


The Unifying Force

by Airius84329



Series: Twilight: The Jasican Allicus Chronicles [2]
Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Action, Explicit Sexual Content, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-24
Updated: 2013-09-08
Packaged: 2017-12-03 12:40:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 35
Words: 102,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/698342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Airius84329/pseuds/Airius84329
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After rescuing his lover, Jacob, from the hands of his former tribemates, Jasican Allicus must face challenges and threats eclipsing those after just his transformation into a vampire, and accept a fate greater than he could imagine. Rated M for explicit language, violence, and slash fiction. Second of three parts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Previously

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aaron Elias Martinez](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Aaron+Elias+Martinez).



**This story is dedicated to my dearly departed friend, Aaron Elias Martinez. I miss you everyday, buddy.**

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

 

"The Unleashed Tides" was the beginning of a three-part series featuring original character, Jasican Allicus, a twenty-five-year-old meat cutter from Long Beach, California, and Jacob Black, one of the major characters from "The Twilight Saga". After buying a Siberian Husky from a pet store one day, Jasican was surprised the next morning to find that his new dog, Andy, was in fact shape-shifter, Jacob Black. After hearing his story, Jasican reluctantly allowed Jacob to say with him.

During that time, Jasican was dating his boyfriend, Jeremy, whom, right off the bat, Jacob disliked intensely. He warned Jasican about Jeremy, citing a "hunch", but ignoring Jacob, he continued seeing Jeremy. After a while, Jacob relented and attempted to reconcile with Jasican, eventually reaching somewhat of a friendship. Jeremy was going out of town one week, about a month and a half after Jacob started living with Jasican, and Jasican decided to surprise him with a visit. After his surprise turn incredibly nasty for him, Jasican broke up with Jeremy.

Jacob, after Jasican came home broken down and depressed, tended to him for a few days, citing that he cared about Jasican since the day he was brought home. He treated Jasican to a few days of comfort, in order to help him forget about Jeremy. Over that time, Jasican learned more about Jacob, about the only two people he had a love interest with, Bella Swan and Reneesme Cullen. Jasican contemplated being with Jacob in a romantic way, but felt it was too early to do such thing, as his breakup was only recent.

After a few days, Jasican went back to work, in which his coworkers brought him to a bar after work to make him feel better after his breakup. During his time there, Jasican was being watched by three men, eying him suspiciously. Feeling he was in danger, and no other way to flag for help, Jasican left the bar as discreetly as he could, but to no avail. He was ambushed by all three men and thrusted into a van, where he was blindfolded and subsequently beaten up. After a short time, Jasican was brought to an unknown location where he was subject to more brutality, including torture. Jasican was fading, almost certain he was going to die, but death never came. Instead, three points on his body, one on his neck and two at his wrist, prompted the spread of unimaginable pain of fire throughout his body. Jasican had lost all sense of himself and time, and for five days, he underwent a transformation that would forever change his life.

Jasican found himself, after those five days, laying naked on his bed with Jacob sitting next to him. He found his whole world sharper and clearer. After viewing himself in the mirror, found that he had undergone dramatic physical changes all over his body: pale, unblemished skin, increased muscle tone, longer hair, scar-free, and blood-read eyes. Jacob revealed that Jasican had turned into a vampire, much to his shock.

Jacob discussed everything he knew about vampires, from their traits, their diet, and their relationship with shifters. Jasican found, through his changes, that he no longer required breathing to live, but after taking a breath, he inhaled Jacob's scent and found himself utterly more attractive, contrary to Jacob's assessment of shifter and vampires being natural enemies. Unfortunately, another breath revealed the presence of now-appetizing humans surrounding him, and after Jacob restrained him, asked Jasican to feed upon himself. Jasican, after Jacob cut his own neck using Jasican's now razor-sharp finger, fed upon Jacob, finding him the most wonderful and delicious substance he had ever tasted.

After he fed, Jasican asked Jacob about how he found him, and Jacob explained. He however, blamed himself for Jasican's transformation. Jasican asked Jacob if he loved him any less because he was a vampire, to which Jacob denied, but accidentally revealed his ex-girlfriend, Reneesme, was a vampire, or rather, half-vampire. This prompted a short fight to ensue, to where Jacob revealed that he had Imprinted on Jasican, just like he had with Reneesme nine years ago, and Jasican revealed that he loved Jacob after the latter proclaimed his own. Jacob then proceeded to plan their move away from the human population, but after he had rest himself.

During Jacob's slumber, Jasican took one last look at this human life, reflecting on how little he had did with his life. He then, after feeling cramped, left his place during the cold, winter morning under cover of darkness. After a while of enjoying the cold, crisp night air, and roaming several cities with his newfound speed, Jasican caught the scent of someone familiar. After losing himself in the lust for blood, Jasican stalked his human prey for a while, revealing that it was his former boyfriend, Jeremy, under intoxication, with another male. After exchanging barbs and quips, Jasican grew tired of talk and while the male tried to threaten him with a knife, Jasican easily disposed of him with a kick to his chest, sending him smashing into a building.

Jeremy then saw the changes now bestowed upon Jasican, and attempted to run, but found it quickly futile. Jasican attacked him and dismembered certain appendages of Jeremy's body, draining him of his blood, before decapitating him and sucking him dry of blood. He was about to drain the other male as well, but found another scent lingering in the air, and decided to follow it.

Jasican ran for five hours straight north, to the point where the sun had risen, revealing his skin under sunlight would sparkle like diamonds. Gaining some of his rational sense back, Jasican realized what he had done, and was immensely distraught by his murdering of two human. After an unsuccessful attempt to kill himself, he released a massive scream, which brought, within moments, the presence of his vampire maker, Godric, and revealed himself as such.

Godric brought Jasican back to a house he was currently occupying and told him his history, a bit about some of the major vampire covens that existed in the world, and about his one primary goal, to reveal, once and for all, the existence of vampires to the human world. After asking Jasican to join him, overwhelmed, Jasican asked for some time alone to think about this newfound endeavor.

Jasican ran into a nearby patch of woods and contemplated about Godric, and also wishing intensely that he was with Jacob. He was then ambushed by a group of massive wolves that turned out to be shifters, and without a second thought, sentenced Jasican to death for being a vampire and killing humans. Jasican defended himself as much as possible, but eventually fell to the wolves, being torn to shreds. After shouting out Jacob's name, an even more massive wolf with russet fur came and knocked to other wolves off of Jasican. As Jasican was healing, the wolf held off the pack.

The wolf was being quickly overwhelmed, and unconsciously, Jasican used an unknown power to take control of one of the advancing wolves and stop them in their tracks. This prompted the russet wolf to rush forward and snatch Jasican with his mouth. After a few moments, the wolf stopped and instead of being surrounded by the wolf's teeth, he was surrounded by the arms of Jacob. Jacob inquired as to why Jasican left him, and he revealed reluctantly that he had killed two humans. While Jacob was disturbed at the thought, he forgave Jasican, telling him that it's something he had to live with now for the rest of his life, and he would eventually have to forgive himself. Jasican, unable to hold his emotions any longer, proceeded to kiss Jacob for the first time, which was shortly interrupted by Godric.

Godric led Jacob and Jasican back to his temporary house, where Jacob tested his newfound powers, the ability to not only transmit telepathic thoughts of suggestion to other people, but completely dominate their minds and control them. Their testing was cut short as the wolves had returned with their leader, Sam Uley. He ordered Jacob to hand over the vampires for their justice, to which Jacob responded by shifting and rushing out of the house with the two vampires holding tight on his back. After a long-winded chase, all three were able to shake to wolves for now.

Through Godric's direction, Jacob led him and Jasican to Washington near Forks, where it was revealed that the wolves, belonging to the Quileute tribe, broke their treaty with the vampire coven residing there, the Cullens, and attacked them. After examining the ruins of the Cullen household, Godric stumbled upon the ashy remains of a vampire, which was the initial cause of the fire that burned most of the Cullen house. Jacob examined the ash to reveal it was the remains of Rosalie Hale, one of the members of the Cullen coven.

Jacob, after Jasican led him out of the house while Godric examined the rest of the house, tearfully recounted his association with the Cullens, and how he came to be estranged from both them and his wolf pack, by means of his Imprint being broken with Reneesme, the natural child of two of the Cullen's, a month before he and Jasican first met. The Imprint originally had strengthened relations between the vampires and the shifters, but after the breaking, Jacob fell into a depression and subsequently attacked one of his packmates after being provoked. This lead to his exile from the Quileute tribe, and after being treated by the Cullen's, ran as far away from his former life as possible, and is so far the implied cause for the attack against the Cullens.

Godric came back to reveal that the Cullens had an underwater hideout constructed after their encounter with their rival and de facto ruling coven, the Volturi, attempted to kill them, falsely accusing them of making an immortal child. After traveling to the source of the hideout, another encounter with the wolves prompted a quick getaway underwater. While they were successful in reaching the hideout, Jacob was injured severely from the rapid pressurization of the water. He was brought to the hideout where, after they all received a cold reception from Jacob's ex, Reneesme, was taken to Dr. Carlisle Cullen, the leader of the Cullen coven.

During their brief stay in the hideout, Jasican was introduced to the rest of the Cullen family. While Jasican was greeted warmly by most everyone, Reneesme continued to ridicule and insult Jasican, clearly still obsessed with Jacob after she broke their Imprint, and very jealous. Jacob was healed enough to finally awake again and was met by Reneesme, where he coldly brushed her off, and blamed her for the whole violent situation between the shifters and the Cullens.

After a brief time, the Cullens, Jasican, and Jacob were led by Godric to his palace far east of the former Cullen household. It was there that they, in addition to Godric's Second, Raymond, drew up plans to begin spreading more worldwide in their quest for revelation. Godric then lead Jasican and Jacob to their room, promising that they will accompany Godric to their first mission.

Finally left alone for the first time since Jasican's transformation, he and Jacob talked about the current state of their relationship, about how close they've managed to become, despite the stereotypical differences with their respective species. After talking about if they could see a future where they would ever become intimate, the point quickly became moot as they both engaged in passionate lovemaking several times throughout that night.

The next morning, Jasican had felt the happiest in his life, finally feeling complete with his lover by his side, but found that happiness diminished quickly. After Alice Cullen had a vision of the Volturi's impending approach to the palace to quell Godric's revolution before it began, Godric set in motion his defense of the palace and his coven while ordering Jasican and Jacob to flee into the woods away from the main battle.

Things became bleaker as Jacob had still not fully recovered from his injuries, and he was unable to shift. Two vampires from Godric's coven, Blaine and Zoe, were sent to help defend Jasican, but found their help to make little difference. One of the highest members of the Guard, Jane, attacked Jasican while the others were distracted, and mentally tortured him. Her twin brother, Alec, came to her side, and after attacking Jane, Jasican was brought down by Alec, using his numbing power to prevent Jasican from fighting back.

Godric rushed to Jasican's defense, killing Alec almost instantly, but now both him and Jasican were surrounded by the main Guard of the Volturi, and Godric was subject to unrestrained torture as Jasican watched helplessly, restrained by the Guard. Aro, the leader of the Volturi, used his power to scan every though of Jasican's mind, learning of his power, and decided to keep him, but Godric revealed his own power, the ability to blast objects telekinetically, and used it to attempt to free Jasican from his captors. This only delayed the attack briefly, and Godric was slain right before Jasican's eyes.

Jasican, amidst his sorrow and rage, effortlessly used his own power to release himself from his captors and torture Aro by taking Jane's mind and using her power. Other members of the Guard tried to stop Jasican, but fell victim to his mental domination, and Jasican set the vampires against their own coven. After being distracted by one of the older vampires in the Guard, and subsequently killing him, Aro and Jane, with the rest of their coven survivors, retreated away from the battle. A few vampires, including Zoe, were held hostage by the Guard during that exchange, and were witness to the events that transpired. Jasican then asked where Jacob was, only to find out he was captured during the battle, and sent back to his former tribe to be executed.

Utterly dismayed and feeling alone in the world, Jasican returns to the palace to convey the news of Godric's death to Raymond. Much to his disbelief, Jasican informs him that he was the sole reason the Volturi had retreated, using his newfound powers to stop them. Before continuing the subject, a immensely distraught Alice Cullen is brought in my her family demanding to know what happened to her husband, Jasper, whom her precognition could no longer detect, and Raymond informs her he had been killed in the battle.

After gathering the surviving vampires together, Raymond informs a devastated coven that as Second, he will be overtaking the leadership of the coven, much to the dismay of the other vampires, clearly unable, or unwilling to continue under the current circumstances. Jasican then appeals to Raymond for help rescuing Jacob from the Quileutes, but is quickly rebuked, citing it was Godric's decision, not his, to let Jacob into the coven, and leaves Jasican feeling more alone than ever.

After venting a bit of his emotions in his room, Jasican quickly elects to find Jacob on his own, regardless of what Raymond says. He is then surprised to find Zoe and the five other vampires, Micah, Bill, Lydia, Ty, and Brett, at his doorstep, willing to help him. Jasican discovers that all of them were to be taken by the Volturi because each has a special gift: Zoe can communicate with other organisms, Micah possesses super-strength, possibly greater than Emmett's; Bill has the ability to turn completely invisible, Lydia can teleport herself instantly from one place to another, Ty is a tracker, a vampire whom specializes in locking onto and hunting other vampires; and Brett, who can control the growth and movement of different plant and flora species.

Leaving the palace, Jasican is under constant pain, guessing it has something to do with Jacob. As he and the group gets closer to La Push, Jasican's pain is nearly unbearable, and is almost unable to continue. Still, he pushes on, formulating a plan to have most of the group distract the La Push tribe while himself and Ty search for Jacob. On their way, they encounter on of the tribe shifters, Seth Clearwater, whom was a former member of Jacob's pack, and after a bit of convincing, direct them to where Jacob is being held. After a quick journey, they arrive at a small hut, and Ty leaves to assist in the distraction. Jasican breaks in to find one of the shifters in wolf form over a badly beaten and broken Jacob, about to commit another horrifying act. Without warning Jasican slams the shifter out of the hut, destroying the wall, and after taking another glance at Jacob, is filled with rage.

Jasican follows the shifter outside and is driven to kill, using everything in his arsenal to combat the shifter and bring him to justice. After a short fight, Jasican quickly overwhelms the shifter, causing him to revert to human form, where his inflict severe bodily pain before ending his life in terrible fashion. After returning to claim Jacob from the hut, he's found to be surrounded by Sam and members of his pack. And exchange of words occur, in which Jasican effortlessly dominates the minds of all the shifter around, and not before vowing to kill each other, leaves the reservation and rendezvous with his companions.

After a short time, they find Seth following them and pleaded with them to accompany them back to the palace, citing no matter how hard he tried, Sam and the pack would discover his involvement and he would suffer Jacob's fate. After explaining to Seth that essentially everything Sam claimed was happening was a lie, and sharing Jacob's relationship with him, Jasican discovers that the Quileutes knew of the impending Volturi incursion and it is suspected that someone within Godric's coven had supplied the Volturi information in order to launch a surprise attack on Godric's coven, and for the Quileutes to use that to gain Jacob back. Jasican then follows the events that happened to him days before, the constant attacks of shifters against him and Godric, and how after arriving at the palace, the Volturi were able to enter undetected, we're all in relation to Godric contacting his Second, Raymond, and determines that he is the traitor against Godric.

The events of "The Unleashed Tides" spanned approximately two months, beginning sometime at the end of Autumn and ending a week before the beginning of Winter. It took place for the first nine chapters in Southern California, then brought to Oregon for a few chapters before settling in Washington for the remainder of the story.

I now present to you part two, "The Unifying Force".


	2. Chapter 2

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

To find out your world was a larger place than you thought, it's a very moving thought. Knowing that these changes to your life would cast you into the darkness of the unknown, is an even deeper movement. I often wonder if any of this was going to change, if there would ever be a resemblance of normalcy left in my life, or even the world. These were but children's thoughts, unable, or possibly, incapable, of accepting their new reality. But, at least for the time being, I knew who I was, what I am, and where I was going, but where exactly my life would take me, that was almost nil.

Since I had been turned into a vampire not less than three days ago, I, Jasican Allicus, had found knowing anything to be a luxury at this point. My whole world had been turned upside-down after being attacked by common thugs to the brink of death. It was then that my maker, Godric, had disposed of those thugs, and saving my life by turning me into a vampire. Though even before then, during the last two months of my human life, Jacob Black, my friend, my lover, my life, had first been brought into my life, unbeknownst to either of us of the chain of events that would follow since then, leading up to now, with Jacob lying broken and beaten in my arms.

Dawn would be approaching soon, and as my mind ran an uninterrupted train of thought, Jacob, myself, Seth, a friend of Jacob's, and a group of vampires, volunteering to help me rescue Jacob from his former Quileute brothers, we're perhaps only moments away from the palace that once held its leader, and my maker. Now, nothing more than a pile of ashes on the floor of the forest, my one true lead in this newfound world had gone in a flash, leaving me lost without guidance, and in mourning. Before his death, Godric was the pioneer of a movement aimed at bringing forth the revelation of our vampire species to the human race, and mainstreaming us to live amongst the humans openly, without them fearing us their hunters in search for our one main source of sustenance, their blood.

Unfortunately, the movement, our coven, had attracted the attention of what's considered the de facto ruling clan of the vampire world, the Volturi. Based on our suspicions, one of our own, Raymond, who was Second to Godric, had conspired with the Volturi to destroy Godric's plans of revelation. The vampires who are with me now, the same ones who bore witness to the murder of my maker and our leader, are perhaps the only ones I can trust now in this world, save of course, Jacob. As we approach the palace, I am again reminded of what we face, and even more so, how very veiled that face is.

"How's he doing?" asked Zoe, whom with Bill, Micah, Ty, Lydia, and Brett, made up the remaining group of vampires.

I shook myself our of my train of thought and looked down at Jacob, whom his still naked form was wrapped in the coat I had on earlier. "He's still knocked out," I replied. "But it looks like at least a few of his injuries have started to heal. The tranqs are starting to wear off."

"Dude, I don't even want to imagine what happened to him," Bill said. "With his healing, he may have endured a lot more than what you see."

Try as I may, I couldn't shake the incoming mental images. I had only seen what unspeakable acts one of Jacob's former tribemates was about to commit, but it didn't take a genius to see that Jacob had already been repeatedly beaten and raped, all in hopes of breaking his will and returning to his pack as an obedient dog. It took one look at that horrifying image to send me into another frenzy similar to the one I had after the Volturi had killed Godric shortly before. For my first frenzy, I had profusely used one of my discovered gifts I had gained when I had turned into a vampire, my ability to dominate other sentient minds. I had taken the mind of one of the Guard, I believe her name was Jane, and used her own ability, her mental torture, and used it as retaliation against the leader of the Volturi, Aro, whom had ordered the destruction of Godric. With the other Volturi scrambling to defuse me, I had killed no less than a dozen other vampires with my gifts and sent them into a full retreat.

My second frenzy, while not using any of my powers until after the battle, resulted in the death of the offending tribemate after discovering Jacob in his shattered state. I had taken the rest of the minds of the surrounding shifter pack before making my own escape with the vampires now with me, and another shifter, Seth, who had helped me find Jacob, and now have reluctantly agreed to have accompany us back to the palace. After we had determined that Raymond had been the traitor in our midsts, Seth desperately requested asylum away from his pack, knowing that because of their shifter telepathy, they would know what he had done and presumably meet a similar fate as Jacob's.

I promised him only that our own fate when we returned to the palace was equally uncertain; Raymond had refused to send a rescue party to find Jacob, and would no doubt be furious at the prospect of myself and the six others with me going after a shifter, whom it was clear he held prejudice against. And the biggest challenge of them all was that the very man we suspected of betraying our coven was now the head of it. Zoe had assured me that while Raymond was Godric's Second, he was never meant to be the permanent replacement of Godric should he meet his death. I wasn't too sure if that was her own personal opinion or not, but regardless, our next goal was clear. Whether we had the backing of the rest of the coven or now, we had to confront Raymond.

The palace was now in sight and we slowed our speed to a normal human walking pace. None of us has caught the scents of any other vampires anywhere outside the palace as dawn began to break, so I had to assume Raymond was keeping them inside or others were out far on a hunt. We elected to come back through the back door, in order to keep avoiding a scene down to a minimum. I was surprised to find Carlisle of the Cullen family standing just a short way inside. 

"I had a feeling you guys were up to trouble," he said to us with a smile. He took one look at Jacob in my arms and asked, "What happened?"

"He was taken by the Volturi during the battle back to his pack," I replied, "but that's not all. Carlisle, we suspect a leak within the coven, and I believe Raymond has betrayed us all."

Carlisle gave me a significant look before replying, "That's a very serious accusation, Jasican. I assume you have proof of some kind?"

"Only what I know," I replied. "Regardless, I need to talk to him. Where is he?"

"Godric's office," Carlisle lowered his voice. "Try to kept it civil, most of us don't need another fight on our hands, especially after our loses."

"I'll try," I said, both of us knowing full well that may not be a promise I can keep. "Take Jacob and treat him as best you can. He seems to be healing, but his body is still filtering out whatever shot those fucks had given him before doing this."

"Of course," Carlisle said, taking Jacob from my arms, and leaving me perhaps a little empty feeling. Without another word, he went into a nearby room and closed the door, leaving us free to proceed further in the palace. For a moment, I seemed silent, but then, I heard the slight sound of voices.

"We looked everywhere, but we couldn't find where they went," once voice said. 

We heard a crashing noise before another voice shouted, "I want that fucker found! Take six of my vampires, will he?!"

"He seems pissed," Micah said. 

"Yeah, no shit," I replied dryly. 

We arrived at the foyer, spotting only a couple of vampires wandering through at the moment, but the door to Godric's office was open, with the light on. A younger looking vampire had come out, looking quite beside herself, shortly before Raymond came out looking furious. "Keep searching. I swear if that little shit went to go find his dog..."

"Raymond!" I called out, unwilling to hear him fling another insult at Jacob. He looked at me incredulously and before he got a word out, I said, "We need to have a little chat."

At first, he was speechless as I walked up to him. My companions had started to follow before I raised a hand to gesture them to hold back. I then said, "Alone, in Godric's office please."

Raymond seemed to gain enough composure before finally replying, "You're immensely confused, young one. This is my office, my palace now! And I'm not going to let you order me around."

"Please, I insist," I said calmly, concentrating on Raymond's mind and using my other ability to shoot him a compelling thought. I felt my body shake for half a second in response and Raymond, without another word, walked straight into Godric's office, and closed the door behind me.

"Raymond," I began. "I know this has been a difficult time for all of us, but I need you to do me a favor: can I please see the call logs on your phone?"

Raymond actually snorted before spitting out, "Why the hell would I want to do that?"

"I need to verify a few things about you before I decide whether I can accept you as the new leader or not," I replied.

"I think you've been spending too much time around that dog of yours," Raymond blurted. "It's obvious your unnatural lust for that beast has clouded your mind and obscured common sense."

"I really doubt that Godric would want you to constantly throw racial slurs at one of the members of our own coven," I said, keeping my anger suppressed. "He did accept Jacob, I find it hard to believe that unless otherwise motivated, his second-in-command would express such opposing views on the matter."

"My 'motivation' is to guide this coven towards the goal of revelation," his anger was rising again, "just like everyone else here who has sworn an oath, like you."

"And so has Jacob. Does that make him any less of a person because he's a different species? I don't think so. And I don't remember swearing an oath to you."

"As his Second--"

"I don't give a damn!" I shouted. "Godric was my maker, my leader, and I owned devotion to him for saving my life, and unless you can prove to me you have that same devotion, the same heart he did, I am going to find it hard to accept you to do anything."

Raymond smiled as he sat down behind Godric's desk, and said, "Unless there's anything else productive you wish to say, please leave my office."

"No."

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, young one, but I am not obliged to do anything for you, a mere newborn."

I sped towards him, stopping right in front of Godric's desk, and said, "Remember, Raymond, that it was because of this 'mere newborn' that this coven is still even existing. I may not have much control, but know that I had Aro in my grasp right after I saw him burn my maker right in front of my eyes. I'm surprised that someone of your standing hasn't shown a bit more emotion and empathy to the one's who have lost their leader, and their loved ones."

"If you prefer that my weeping around the halls will better serve this coven, I will refer to your council," Raymond said. "Otherwise, get out."

"I said 'no'. Not until I view your call records."

Raymond stood back up to face me, "And why do you wish to see those so badly? Are you accusing me of something?"

"Not unless you have something to hide."

Raymond thought for a moment, then I found a hint of a smile before he reached in his pocket and handed me his phone. "It's unlocked, look away."

I looked down and saw he handed me a older-generation iPhone, fifth if I remember correctly. I went straight to the phone app and looked through the records. At first, I thought this was too easy, and found my early sentiment dashed, as most of his call logs was to Godric, and a few other local numbers related to Washington. Raymond was staring patiently at me as I did a quick check in the settings app to see how updated his phone was. I was relieved to find that he was missing two updates and the iPhone was still vulnerable to a type of hacking I was well familiar with.

I went to the Safari browser and as fast and silently as I could, I used a website to direct me to a hacking tool that would add root access to the phone. After a moment, the installation was complete, and by accessing the root app, I was able to snag a program that allowed me to access files on the phone that I normally couldn't get to. Raymond was getting a bit impatient now, but I knew I was nearly done. I found cache files from call logs that the phone hadn't filtered out yet, and after a few taps, I was able to restore all of them. Now heading back to the phone app, I found what I was looking for: next to Godric's contact info, immediately after he called Raymond's phone, another number was directly above it, at least twice. The two times I was looking for were there, right after I had first left Godric which directly proceeded my first wolf attack, and a second time approximately after we were in the remains of the Cullen house. Those numbers belonged to an international line.

I smiled and set the phone back down in front of Raymond. "Never underestimate someone who once had an obsession with these devices. I may not have been the best tech-savvy, but I know enough to jailbreak these devices and find what I need to." Raymond looked back at his phone as I asked, "So who where you calling overseas after Godric called you?"

Raymond looked positively shocked that I was able to do that, and before I let him say anything, I said, "I found it odd that immediately after each time Godric called you, we faced an attack by the shifters. At first I though it would have been easy for you to keep contact with them, but your apparent hatred for them scratched that, so you'll never guess where my next assumption lied."

Raymond stood back up, looking furious, and said, "If you're so good at manipulating my phone, than who's to say that you didn't just make up information to frame me."

"Too easy," I proclaimed, "and doesn't defer from the truth, seeing as we both know what you did. You had sold us to the Volturi, who in turn, used the shifters to adequately distract Godric, Jacob, and I, and launch an attack against the Cullens. Using their leader's thirst for vampire blood, it was only too easy to persuade him to oblige, shifting all of our attention to them, and leaving a clear road for the Volturi to incur once more."

"An interesting theory," Raymond said, apparent in his efforts to keep his anger contained, "but one that won't hold a lot of weight in these halls. Whether you like it or not, my word is law in this coven, and since it is apparent you won't leave me to may work, I'm going to have to make you."

"Try it, bitch."


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

 

Faster than I could think, Raymond had me by the throat against the opposite wall, next to the door. "You have much to learn about resisting me, young one," he spat. I almost felt the power of Godric's blood energize me, and I aimed an uppercut towards his chin and that was enough to break his contact on me. I then aimed a kick to his head and launched him straight through the door back into the foyer where he crashed onto the floor.

“You...” Raymond replied in the smallest whisper yet, and before I knew it, he had lunged for me. Everyone had moved out of his way to avoid his attack, and he slammed into me, pushing me back. With all of my strength, I pushed Raymond away from me, forcing him to stumble briefly backwards. He recovered in less than a second and before I had a chance to react, Raymond rushed forward and slammed into me, sending me flying against the opposite wall, making it crack and crumble upon impact. I looked up to see Raymond leaping towards me again and I rolled to dodge him. I quickly got back to my feet and turned to face him.

He lunged again, but I jumped to the side before he hit me. I leaped over him as he went straight for me, landing as he turned back around to face me. Raymond didn't seem to care for words anymore as he dashed forward with a fist aimed at me, but I was ready this time. I sidestepped as he missed my face and I countered with my own fist to his head. He flipped twice before landing back-first on the floor. I started towards him, but found that quickly moot as he stood back up and while still crouched, aimed a swinging back-kick at my head, causing me to stumble back.

I didn't have a chance to block before Raymond sent a short flurry of punches all over my body, causing my body to flail back and forth. He then grabbed my wrist and swung me over his head, slamming me into the ground below, causing bits of stone and marble to fly up from the destroyed floor under me. I managed to roll away as Raymond came down again with his fist, leaving broken tile in his wake. In that split second, I sent an uppercut to his face and sent him flying again. I didn't give him a chance to land before I sped towards him and finished his decent to the floor, grasping his neck and pinning him down.

My anger was reaching it's peak now, and I planted my hand on one side of his head to prepare to slam his head down before I removed the other from his throat and my sight started to blur. I felt myself drawn towards him, but oddly, it felt like I was moving towards his mind, like my own consciousness was entering his, yet my body remained completely still.

What happened next was even harder to describe. My surroundings around me had changed. I was in a bedroom now, but it was similar to the one Jacob and I stayed in, meaning I was still in the palace, and the sun was setting. I was pacing the room and talking on a cell phone, listening at the moment.

“And you're sure now is a good time?” I heard an Italian voice over the phone.

“Yes,” I heard Raymond's voice come out of my mouth. “Godric has just informed me he's in California now, and he's busy with another newborn.”

“Then we need to move fast,” the voice on the phone said. “I've got a nearby coven on standby, and we are flying into Washington now. They'll contact these wolves that we previously encountered and we should be there before dawn.”

“Good, make sure you keep your thoughts to yourself,” Raymond said. “Godric will be making contact with the Cullens in a bit, and I know that bitch, Alice, can see you if you don't be careful.”

“Relax, I know how her power works,” The voice said. “My encounter with her and her brother ten years ago has given me wonderful insight on how to evade her visions. She'll be quite blind until we get there.”

The vision changed. It was well into the night now and I was outside, running. Oddly, my mind was silent, and the only thing I was thinking about was getting to the Washington coast. I knew thinking would cause Alice to see what I am doing and alert the others. I needed to be swift.

Whether I was nearby the coast or the vision changed again, I had no idea, but suddenly, I was stopped and facing a group of black-robed vampires several miles from Port Angeles.

“Hello again, Ray, it's so good to see you again,” said an eerie voice, almost cheerful.

“Aro,” I said in Raymond's voice.

“So, how goes everything? Are we all set?” Aro said.

“Yes,” I said. “Godric doesn't suspect a thing. Everyone will be gathered at the palace tonight, and most have already fed. This will be your only shot.”

“Good, good,” Aro said anxiously. “I am excited at the prospect of new talent within our fold. Our family has grown large indeed, and the vampires from Godric's little insurrection will make a fine addition.”

“What will you do with the ones who aren't worthy of your attention?” I asked.

“Oh, you misunderstood my meaning, young one,” Aro said in a soothing voice that was anything but. “I do not wish to harm anyone, but I will if the try and resist us. A simple surrender will suffice and I will leave them on their merry way. They only have pledged to resist us, but haven't done anything yet, so most of them are hardly a threat to me. It's Godric that I need out of the way.”

“You'll proceed with that part then?” I turned and started walking with Aro and the rest of his coven followed around us.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Aro replied. “Godric may have wonderful talent himself, but I fear he is too far gone to try and convince. It will be sad to kill him, and besides, with him gone, it will be you who has control of his coven.”

“Of course,” I said, trying to contain a little jolt of excitement within me. “Make your preparations and begin your attack when ready at dawn. I'll make sure that Alice's visions are quite occupied during the attack.”

“What do you have in mind?” Aro inquired.

“Oh, you don't need to worry about that,” I said with a hint of smugness. “Just be sure you remember to stop by the muts' area and inform their leader that one of their own is still with us. After giving chase for a day, I believe they'd jump at the chance to reclaim one of their own. That should at least take care of Godric's newborn; he's 'Imprinted' on him, or some shit like that."

Aro replied in genuine surprise, “Perhaps I underestimated your influence, indeed. You are a fine addition to the Volturi and you'll make us proud.”

I forced myself to take my hands off of Raymond's head. The initial shock forced me on my back, and I involuntarily scooted backwards away from him. He was immobile on the floor, but his eyes were still open and he was alert.

Without invitation, words started coming out of my mouth, but I was surprised to find my voice sputtering a bit, and my pitch was higher, “I...I saw it all. I saw what...what was in his mind, as if I was there. No! As if I was Raymond himself; it was all from his head, his voice was mine, his mind was mine, I could see everything he did, absolutely fucking everything!”

When I heard absolute silence, I looked up from Raymond and saw that everyone was wide-eyed and staring at me. I turned around to see my comrades mirroring their expression, and as more vampires arrived in the foyer to see the commotion, I dared to ask, “What happened?”

Nobody answered automatically. After another long moment, Zoe walked cautiously to me and said, “You shook and vibrated again. And before anything else, we heard Raymond, but it was from you, and then we heard Aro's voice, and everyone backed away from the both of you. We heard the entire conversation come out of your mouth, and Raymond looked like he was in pain. Before you broke contact, he was flailing and screaming.”

I looked back at Raymond. “I can't explain it, but it was like I _was_ Raymond and I was seeing his memories through his perspective, but I saw it all. I saw how how he---”

“Are you happy now?”

Everyone was looking at Raymond now. “You, all of you, are the traitors. You would dispense of what makes you truly vampire to intermingle with weakling humans. You destroy our secrecy, you destroy the way we live, and you will spell doom on everything. The Volturi are right in what they are doing. The keep us in line and make sure that we can live the way we want to, and taking whatever humans are necessary to sustain us! By trying to make this revelation a reality, by taking away what makes us strong, you make us no different than humans. You will take away our freedom and put us in line with those who you know will seek our destruction! And what will you have left once they decide to fight us and we kill them all? Can you not see how this whole fucking thing will make us?!”

I stepped forward and knelt next to Raymond. “It will regain our humanity, something you have clearly lost. You've not a shred of conscience left and you've sold out everything so you can have everything you have wanted. You are a selfish beast and it is because of, ironically, the reason you have presented that you cannot see why we are seeking revelation. There is nothing more to that, you know exactly what's going on here and you refuse to want to make that change a reality, and will take whatever steps to make that happen.”

I stood back up and closed my eyes. I focused in on only a portion of Raymond's mind and I felt my body shake in response. I opened my eyes and looked back down at him. “Go to your chambers and stay there. I have a mental hold on you and if you attempt to escape, I will dominate your mind.”

“That's ridiculous!” I heard someone behind me shout. “We should kill the fucker and be done with it.”

“No!” I said firmly. “To do so would make us no different than the Volturi, and it wouldn't do us much service to become the very thing we swore to destroy. Micah,” I turned to face him, “escort Raymond and keep and eye on him. We can figure out what happens to him later.”

“Yeah, no prob,” he replied without a shred of light in his voice. He yanked Raymond up unceremoniously and pulled him out of the foyer. A long silence passed, during which I sat down and tried to relax myself. For an immortal body, I seemed to be taking quite a beating on all ends of the spectrum. I looked up to see some of the vampires looking at me, others just trying not to look at anyone at all.

Finally, I heard the same voice from before speak up, “Well, this is great. We've got no leader and no fucking Second to replace him.”

“What would you have done?” I looked up at the face to the voice. The voice belonged to a spiky-haired guy who looked to be around my age who was wearing a very bad attitude right now. “Allowed him to lead us straight into the Volturi's hands? It's foolish to even consider it.”

“And besides, Andrew,” I was surprised to hear Emmett's voice this time, “Did you really think he could lead us anyway? He was a dick and I could see from a mile away that he wouldn't have been half the leader as Godric would have been. We all heard it, he just wanted to be leader for the power-trip.”

“Well, what are we supposed to do?” I heard a light-haired girl with freckles speak up. “Who's gonna lead us? Is there still going to be a coven after all this?”

“I don't know,” I spoke up. “We all knew what we were getting into when we swore ourselves into this coven, and we can't just turn our backs on it now.”

“And the question of leadership?” I heard Lydia speak up.

“I could try and see if Carlisle can take over,” I began before I was interrupted.

“No, Carlisle already specified that he wanted no part of the leadership of Godric's coven,” Esme replied. “We came in only to join and support, but not to take over. He's a family man, he doesn't have the heart to lead us in war.”

“I say the red-head should be leader,” I heard Andrew say, pointing at me. “He's the one who got us into this mess now.” I was really getting tired of his attitude.

What surprised me was that I had more people agreeing with that statement than disagreeing. I stood back up and said, “Are you nuts? I'm no leader, I'm a fucking newborn.”

“But you're the most powerful,” Bill said behind me. “Typically, the most powerful vampire is the one that takes over.”

“Without qualifications?” I turned to give him and incredulous look. “Look, I know some of you might mean well in thinking I can lead, but I'm a fucking mess. You can see how easily I can go off, I've very much not in control, and I don't even have any experience in leading anyone. I've only been a vampire for three days and today is only my second day in this coven.”

“And you managed to take down about dozen Volturi,” Zoe began, “had Aro in submission, took the six of us,” she indicated the rest of the group that accompanied me, “and lead us all to a successful rescue mission, found out Raymond had betrayed us, and made sure he was exposed and de-throned before he could cause any more damage, and didn't even kill him in the process.”

“And you think that automatically makes me qualified to lead an entire coven to a vampire revelation?” it was hear turn to receive my incredulous look. “Half the time, I didn't even know what I was doing, and during most of that time, I was in some sort of angry frenzy or mentally dominating someone. And what's worse is, I seem to be only growing in power. What I did to Raymond, I couldn't even tell you how that happened or why, but it seems that as time goes on, my abilities only increase, and what would happen should I lose control? I could end up killing you all and everyone in a fifty-mile radius. There would be no one to check my power, especially now that Godric is dead. I'm a fucking ticking time-bomb, and the explosives are only getting stronger. I'm a risk to all of you.” I finished, settling the matter. 

I was partially glad that I had turned off some of the vamps from the idea of my leadership, and I was right. I'm living in the complete unknown, my whole life and everything flipped completely upside-down and sideways.

“Look, we can figure this out later,” I spoke up again. “Alice, are you able to see?”

I turned to her and she nodded, albeit it was stiff. “The Volturi?” I asked.

“Out of the way, for the moment,” she replied. “I don't see them coming back for now.”

“Alright, I need to see if Carlisle's got Jake patched up,” I said to no one, really. I was about to turn to face the main hallway when I caught an unusual scent. Within seconds, everyone had the scent, but nobody had said anything. “What is it?” I asked.

“I don't know,” Zoe was the one who replied to me. “It's familiar, but I can't--.”

Suddenly, I heard a noise, indeed, multiple noises coming from outside, and in seconds, footsteps coming from the entrance hall of the palace. I stepped forward to see who or what was coming, and I could already see some vampires crouching into attack stances.

Five tall Native Americans strode into the foyer, four incredible built males and one female, whom even for me, was strikingly beautiful. All were wearing fur coats of some type, draped over their shoulders and the males were wearing headdresses that resembled the upper half of a wolf's head. The female was dressed elegantly and lacked a headdress, but like the males, had long, jet-black hair. What was catching my eye though was the woman's facial features, as they had seemed strangely familiar.

I saw a few more vampires crouch into attack stances and a few of them growled. I saw one actually start to move forward and I said, “Stop!” while gesturing him to stop. I turned back towards the newcomers.

“Who is the leader of this establishment?” the female's voice boomed throughout the foyer.

I glanced back at the coven and I replied, “We're going through a...leadership change right now. What can I do for you?”

“I'm here for Jacob Black,” she replied simply. The room went dead silent and I began to eye hear carefully. “I was told he was captured by a vampire coven and you are the nearest one. Now tell me where he is!”

“If I may ask,” I began. “Who are you?”

The female threw her hair back with her hand and replied, “My name is Sarah Black.”


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

 

If there was ever a more quiet silence, you'd find it here. There was not a single noise made as I stood in front of this strange woman, almost gawking at her from the mention of her name. “...Black?” I repeated.

“Yes,” Sarah said, almost nonchalantly. “Are you going to tell me or are we going to have to look for him ourselves?” she added in a dangerous tone.

I shook my head slightly and brought my head back down to Earth. “That will not be necessary, follow me.”

As soon as I turned around, I heard the footsteps of the four males escorting her follow and I swiftly turned back around, “Alone, if you please,” I said to Sarah.

“Do you really think--.” she began incredulously before I cut her off.

“I just need to ask you a few questions,” I said simply. “I have no intentions of harming you or your escort, but I must speak with you alone.”

She hesitated intensely before deciding to follow me. I headed straight for Godric's office and entered. Sarah followed seconds later and I calmly shut the door. She turned around quickly, nearly about to explode in anger before I put my hand up and said, “As I said, I'm not going to harm you. Just a few questions.”

It almost seemed like I saw her skin ripple, but whatever emotions she was holding, Sarah maintained control, She looked at me and said, “You're not the typical vampire.”

“Ms. Black...Sarah,” I was hesitant in the pleasantries, “Know that before I inform you of anything, I have to build a trust in you, and in a very short amount of time as well. I have to know that you are who you say you are, and that you are not here to present any harm to Jacob.”

“Harm?” I got an incredulous look from that one. “We are the ones rescuing Jacob from harm, the harm you have possibly presented him in.”

I got a small sucker punch from that. Although I had never harmed Jacob myself, it was because of me that everything had happened to him. “Although you probably won't believe me, it was actually some of this coven that rescued Jacob from being captured.”

“You're right, I don't,” she said promptly. “Why should I believe you? You're a vampire, after all, so why should you have any interest in rescuing Jacob?”

I sighed. “I really don't see how my being a vampire has anything to do with my willingness to rescue Jacob, and quite frankly, it's pissing me off how much hostility is between shifters and vampires. I don't know what happened in the past to cause this bad blood, and I don't much give a damn, but know I'm not going to stand by and allow everyone to hate each other based on species. If you know history, you'll know that this kind of bullshit behavior never prevails, so get the hell over yourself and start learning to accept people for things they can't change, and especially things they can't control.”

Sarah closed her eyes and mirrored my sigh. “You are indeed a strange vampire, and a very bold one at that. It's very rare that I hear a vampire willing to end our hostilities.”

“You must have not been around us for very long,” I replied, remembering Godric with a pang of sorrow. “I'd wager there are more of us with a willingness for peace than others. Unfortunately, I can tell the feeling is not mutual with some of your species.”

“Hmm, I'm assuming you're referring to the Quileutes,” Sarah said.

I gave her a look of confusion, “You are not part of the Quileute tribe?”

She actually laughed at that question, “Heavens, no. I'm part of the Chimakun tribe. We're closely related, sharing the same languages and everything, but we are far from similar in traditions and our way of life.”

“But I thought Jacob was Quileute,” I replied.

“Half Quileute,” Sarah corrected me. “It's a rather long story and I'd rather not get into it right now, but know that they haven't been friendly with us in quite some time, even more so around the time Jacob was born.”

“That's probably why your scent doesn't make me hostile towards you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Whenever I was around anyone Quileute,” I began, “I got incredibly agitated and ready to kill anyone with that foul scent, but with you, you have a scent that lets me know you're a shifter, but you don't register as hostile, same with your other tribemates.”

“And what about Jacob?”

“Let's just say he's...special,” I replied. “It's not something I'm ready to share now, but do know that this coven is not your enemy. I can feel that we have nothing to fear from each other, and possibly, after we work out our own issues, we can talk about ending whatever hostilities are still between our species.”

“Hmm, forgive my skepticism,” Sarah replied. It was better than a no. “Am I allowed to see Jacob now?”

I sighed and started towards the door, “Follow me, but know that my questions do not end here, and you have gained little trust from me.”

Sarah nodded and followed me out of Godric's office. I didn't know where Carlisle had taken Jacob, but I could easily find his scent, and he appeared to still be on the ground floor. I ignored all the passing glances at me from the rest of the coven as I entered the main hallway opposite of the entrance hall across the foyer. After making a few turns, I stopped in front of a rather unassuming door. I turned to face Sarah and said, “If you are related at all to Jacob, then you will not find this sight pleasant at all. He has suffered massive torture,” the memory of the pain I shared with Jacob and the sight of his ravaged body sent the equivalent of chills down my spine, “and he may not have healed yet, so brace yourself.” I opened the door.

Carlisle was standing over Jacob, who was lying on a small bed, dabbing some sort of cleaning solution over his multiple wounds. Jacob was either asleep or unconscious, but as I had assumed, most, if not all of his injuries had yet to begin to heal yet. I heard a small intake of breath behind me as Sarah came around me and got a glimpse of Jacob.

I walked towards both Carlisle and Jacob. “How is he?” I asked the doctor.

“The sedatives are almost gone, but Jacob is still unconsciousness,” Carlisle replied. “I'm taking the chance to clean him up while he's still out, but hopefully, after his body is clear, I won't have to do much patchwork on him.”

“Thank you, Carlisle,” I said with full sincerity. “After you finish with him, I'd like to be alone with him.”

Carlisle looked from me to Sarah standing behind me. “Who...?”

“I'll explain later, when I have more answers,” I cut him off. Without another word, Carlisle had walked past me and Sarah and left the room. I turned to face Sarah and found her in deep sorrow. Tears had begun to weld in her eyes as she strode to Jacob's side, as much as she was trying to suppress it, but what expression was embedded in her eyes had caused the most confusion for me. I looked over Sarah once again and my confusion increased. Sarah looked to be no older than thirty, her features easily mirroring her youth. Yet, her eyes showed something far more different, something I would have never suspected even at a concentrated glance. In her eyes was the desire of protection, the failure to deliver said action, and a certain aspect of unfamiliarity, but enough of a drawn to know that she had been away from Jacob for a long time, perhaps unwillingly. However, it was the intensity of love in her eyes that convinced me that I was looking upon Jacob's mother. Not even the greatest actor in the world could duplicate what I was seeing before me.

I walked over to Sarah's side, not exactly sure what to do. The tears were free falling from her eyes at this point. I then asked, “How long has it been since you last saw Jacob?”

Albeit restrained, she tore her gaze from Jacob and looked at me. “Since he was ten, about fourteen years ago.”

“How...?” I didn't know what question to ask first, how it was she was estranged from Jacob for so long, or how it was someone of her age could have possibly been Jacob's mother in the first place. I decided on neither for the moment and went for another question. “I know I may not be in the position to ask the more intrusive questions I may have, but I have to ask. What happened fourteen years ago?”

She closed here eyes briefly and said, “We might as well sit down; this will take a while to explain.

"Does that mean you trust me?"

"Heavens, no," Sarah said sternly, "but this is enough."

“When Jacob was born, his father, Billy, and I both knew the destiny Jacob would have as a descended of Ephraim Black, being not only the Alpha of the Quileutes, but as soon as he reached of age, would lead the whole tribe as head chieftain. As I was from the Chimakun tribe, and our customs were different, I wanted Jacob to have a more flexible future, one where he can choose his future and not be bogged down by the Quileutes way of life. My tribe has a more abstract view of how things should be run, and we give much more freedoms to our children. Essentially, we've never had a need for an actual Alpha to guide our tribe, and we stay together more out of actual love and earned loyalty instead of demanding it as the Quileutes do.

“Now, I loved Billy with all my heart, and although he was Quileute, I could see that we were a lot alike. We met years before Jacob was born, and as we aren't anchored in my tribe, it was more of a chance meeting when I arrived at La Push than anything. He didn't have that dictatorial nature where, especially since he was about to be chieftain himself before we were married, he would lord over his tribe and engage his power wherever he could. Of course, as we got older, and we had our first two daughters, more and more of the tribe and their Elders got into him and that became more of the reality. He was already willfully stubborn, and once he accepted the position of chieftain and head Elder, he began to care more about the tribe than he did his own family. He became more and more blinded by ambition and power, and his main focus became to make sure we were thoroughly protected from the vampires and to ensure that he has the loyalty of all within his tribe. To top it off, since we hadn't had a vampire incursion for over sixty years at that point, Billy's shifter gene had never surfaced, and his anger for that had added to the growing list of emotions that fed his desire to tighten his grip on the Quileutes.

“As Jacob grew from infancy to a child, I knew that my hopes and dreams for his future would diminish, and Billy would have his way, molding Jacob into everything Billy couldn't and wanted to be. I had tried so hard to convince Billy to see reason and allow Jacob to have his own future, but Billy had cemented his resolve over what he wanted for Jacob. He became more and more angry with me, especially since in the Chimakun tribe, our ability to shift wasn't dependent on and insurgence of vampires, and I had my ability to shift and Billy was incredibly jealous. Billy's attitude seemed to be mirrored throughout the whole tribe and it became clear that I would soon be unwelcome within La Push. But I wasn't going to leave my son in the hands of these bastards without a fight, and fight we did, Billy and I. The night I left, almost fifteen years ago, I would never forget.

“Billy had given me an ultimatum, either submit to the rule of the Elders and to himself, or forfeit Jacob and leave La Push. I refused both, and told him he wasn't doing anything with Jacob, that he is my son and I won't set foot outside without Jacob. What I failed to realize was that even though I was the only functioning shifter in La Push, the tribe had other means to compensate, and their laws are almost literally binding. I found myself fighting for my life, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't get to Jacob. They had him under protection, since Billy was the chieftain. While all his power was focused on Jacob, he failed to realize that he had no protection to himself, and out of blind anger, I shifted and attacked him. I gathered my senses before I went further and left the fastest way out of La Push. I was absolutely heartbroken, and even more so when Billy and the Elders had put a seal around the borders to prevent me or my tribemates from returning. At that point, I knew I would never see my son again.”


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

 

I sat there in silence, taking in the story presented to me. Jacob and I never really talked about his parents, and he only mentioned his father once. I had no idea if either parents were still alive at that point, or if Jacob was still aware of his mother far after she had left. From the ease of the way she told her story, I could tell, however intimate it was, it was a story she probably had to recount several times long ago. 

I didn't know what to say at this point. I looked back at Jacob, taking note of the scars on his body now a bit more faded than they were before. I couldn't comprehend how someone could be forced away from her child for almost fifteen years. And Jacob didn't even know. That thought coursed through my heart most of all, the fact Jacob had a mother still alive, but he believed her dead. If what Sarah said was true, then Jacob knows either one of two things, the truth, however warped his father could have made it, or whatever lie may have been concocted to cover for his mother's absence.

But one thing still bothered me. "Sarah?" I begin. "How is it that you've never attempted to come back and find Jacob?"

She sighed again, "Believe me, I wanted to go back the moment I was chased out of La Push, but you don't understand how binding the laws of their land are, just like with the Chimakun tribe. If they wish to keep one of their own out of their land, no matter which tribe they come from, there is no way around it. I knew, as well as Billy and my own tribe did, that if he wanted to keep Jacob away from me, he'd keep him within his sight, never allowing him to leave La Push within a certain reach, and I'd never have a chance."

"Would you be able to tell if he had left La Push?" I asked. 

"No," Sarah answered. "The magic of our lands extends far beyond their boundaries, but even my tribe wouldn't even be close enough to see if Jacob had left or not."

I had to keep myself from scoffing at her mention of the word "magic", but I pressed on my reason for the question, "I see," I responded. "Because before just a few days ago, Jacob had been away from Washington altogether."

Sarah looked at me as I finished, "He has been in California for the past two months. With me," I finished with heavy hesitation. 

"With you?" she repeated. "Why would he be with you?" her voice began to grow cold.

I tried to ignore the tone, "He told me he had been exiled from La Push. I first encountered him...when he was a dog, a Siberian Husky to be more precise."

Sarah's eyes grew incredulously, and before she said anything, I said, "I bought him in a pet store. I had no idea he was what he was until the day after."

"How the hell would someone like you be able to just walk into a pet store and buy a dog?" she was barely keeping her voice below a scream. "Actually, the more important question would be why a vampire needs a dog to begin with."

I tried desperately not to sigh in frustration, "I was still a human then," I explained as calmly as I could.

This seemed to have subdued Sarah a bit. I pressed on, "Look, I had no idea what was going to happen that day, or anything else for that matter." I looked sadly at Jacob. "My life had changed so much after we met, even more so after I was turned."

"How long ago were you turned?" she asked me.

"Three days ago."

Sarah's face reflected a bit more sorrow. I can see I was finally getting through to her, and I decided to share my story. 

"About two months ago, my life was your normal, dead-end job living, with few friends, if any at all, and my life seemed to be going nowhere. I lived on my own, and at that time, I had no one really to care for. I made the decision to get a dog, to make my life a little better, and that day, I did, but what proceeded the next day..."

I pressed on into my long and grueling story. I recounted how Jacob and I first met, how during the time I was human, our relationship was less than easy, especially with me dating Jeremy at the time. The time after I broke up with Jeremy, when Jacob and I connected even further. I then launched into my transformation story, and even I was hesitant on how detailed I should really get. I told her about the torture I endured, how I was inches away from death before Godric had bit me, to change me. Sarah was about to interrupt me at that point, but held back, probably to tell me that I had probably actually died, and at that point, I don't think I was hardly in a position to disagree with her. The pain of the transformation, I had told her, was something that was literally indescribable, the closest thing I could compare was being lit on fire at the hottest temperature and having to endure that for (though I didn't know at the time) five whole days. 

I told her about how Jacob had found me halfway into my transformation, in complete sorrow that he could do nothing to stop it, that he had felt utter failure. After I completed, he informed me of everything he knew about vampires, and was able to tell me more about his tribe. She seemed to have shown the most distress over the fact that I accepted Jacob's own blood as my own nourishment, and I waved off whatever question she was about to asked and pressed on. I finished the story with how he recounted his first Imprint, and how he was now Imprinted to me, and how we were now firmly together. 

Silence has passed for several moments before she finally spoke again. "Your story is...odd at best," she said, her voice almost shaking, but of what emotion, I couldn't tell.

"I admit that I don't understand myself," I replied, "only that I know that Jacob had tried to help me in any way he could, but I'm finding out that he needs more help from me." She looked at me in confusion. "Because of me, he's had to push himself to the limit when I was marked for death by Sam and his tribe, and they gave chase. He had to risk his life to follow Godric and I down terrible depths, and could have easily died from it. In fact, it was because of his injuries there that prevented him from defending himself from capture when the Volturi came to attack us."

"The Volturi?"

"It's a long story."

Sarah turned her head back to the door we came through and said, "Yes, I bet." She turned back to me and asked, "So who caused this?" gesturing at Jacob.

"From my understanding, the Volturi had delivered him to the Quileutes, and at the time, I thought he was going to be killed by them. But what I found," I paused as the mental images of Jacob freshly tortured caused me to ball my fists in anger, "was far more terrible than my mind could comprehend next to death. They had done...terrible things to him, to break him and morph him into an obedient dog, pardon the pun, under Sam." I couldn't resist grabbing Jacob's hand anymore, trying to hold back the sniffles of another tearless sob. "But the worse part was I could feel how badly he was being hurt. I could literally feel each new instance of pain, the closer I got to him, as if it was my own." I closed my eyes. "I have no idea how well he'll come out of this after he heals."

Another moment of silence passed us before I spoke up again, "What are you thinking?"

Sarah sighed, "Honestly? I think you are absolutely crazy and I don't know whether to believe you or not."

"Well, you got the crazy part right," I admitted, "but I swear to you everything I have told you up to this point has been true."

"And Jacob?" she asked, "he's really Imprinted on you?"

"Yes," I answered firmly, "from everything he has told me. And I'm not sure what the degree of attraction is to me he possesses, but I can safely say from the deepest part of my being, I have returned as much love as he has given me."

"Hmm," was all the response I heard for a moment. I had no idea how well she was digesting the information I had just given her, nor how well Sarah would actually take it. It was at this point that I was aware how uncomfortable I was talking about my relationship with Jacob with his own mother. 

Apparently, Sarah was feeling the same way, because she then said, "Perhaps we should discuss this at another time. I imagine we still have much to talk about."

"Yes," I agreed, tearing my gaze away from Jacob and back to Sarah. "I'm not sure how much longer it will be until Jacob awakes. Carlisle mentioned the sedatives were nearly out of his system, and he should be fully healed within the hour. I'm not sure if you'd want to be around when he wakes, given the circumstances."

Sarah stood up and said, "I've waited over fourteen years to see my son, I can wait a little while longer to speak with him. Tell me, who would I speak to in order to allow myself and my guard to stay?"

"As I said, we are going through a leadership change," I replied, standing up and walking to the door. "At the moment, we have no leader, as the original was killed by the Volturi," another pang went through my heart, "and his second in command ended up being a traitor to us. I'll ask Carlisle to speak to the others about letting you stay. Honestly, I doubt many would care, as our recent battle had taken a heavy toll on them."

"Who is this 'Volturi' you keep speaking of?" Sarah asked impatiently.

"They are a vampire coven, just like us, only they are older, and more powerful," I explained. "From what I've been told, they imposed themselves as our leaders and deliver punishments as such. They sought to deliver said punishment upon us, also to recruit whomever they could." 

"And what did you do to piss these vampires off?"

I was about to answer when Carlisle came back into the room and stopped to see Sarah and I standing. "Well, I'm glad to see there hasn't been any commotion since I left." I raised an eyebrow at him. "I just came back in to checkup on Jacob, and to inform you the other shifters are getting quite restless in waiting."

"After you're done," I spoke up, "instruct the other vampires that our guests are welcome here. There are an abundance of rooms," I turned back to Sarah, "so you may rest in any of the unclaimed rooms. Godric never showed ill will towards shifters, and neither will anyone here. I hope the feeling can be mutual."

Sarah took a breath and said, "We will respect your wishes, and accept your hospitality."

"There's not much more for me to check," Carlisle said, leaning over Jacob, "it's just a matter of time before he's fully healed, and his vitals are well. I'll be more than happy to find you and your companions a room to stay, Ms.-"

"Sarah," she spoke up as she turned to leave the room, "and thank you. We will be speaking again," she pointed at me. "Forgive me, but I did not catch your name."

"Jasican," I said simply. Sarah then left the room with Carlisle in tow.


	6. Chapter 6

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jacob's Point of View_

 

I awoke to a dull ache spread across my whole body. For a moment, I tried to remember where I was and (stupidly) who I was. My mind quickly flashed back to the source of my original pain, and I tried to suppress a grimace. I found that action moot as my body was still mostly unresponsive when I tried to move. I guessed that I was still sedated, partially at the least, and that I still had a little while longer before I fully regained control.

It was then I realized that half my body was aching more intensely than the other, and that other side felt significantly cooler, like I had a giant ice pack on me. I used what little strength I had to force my eyes open and saw a wave of flowing red hair draped across half my chest. I smiled at the realization of who it was laying on me and I was about to say hello, until I heard him humming something kinda incoherent. 

I tried to sound playful, but my voice came out hoarse, "What are you doing?"

Jasican's head flew up at lightning speed and the happiest smile crossed his face. "Jacob!" he nearly shouted in joy and he nearly leaped forward to embrace me. I tried to return it, but I only succeeded in flopping my arms over his back. Jasican brought himself down to eye level and pressed his lips against mine in a warm (or cold rather) kiss, which I was happy I was able to return. How I missed the taste.

After a long, but blissful moment, Jasican broke the kiss and looked me in the eye again. I looked deep into his red eyes, still alien from when he turned. While I was still drawn to the eyes, I missed his green ones horribly. I figured, amongst everything that changed about Jasican, I'd miss those eyes the most. "How are you feeling, babe?" he asked me.

"Groggy as hell," I replied, "and you never answered my question."

"Oh," Jasican almost giggled. "I was listening to your heartbeat."

"My heartbeat?"

"Yeah," he said, unabashed. "Whenever I listen, it sounds like music, oddly enough."

"Music?" my eyebrows now fully raised.

"Yeah," he repeated. "I can't describe it, like I can't place it in a group or genre. It's just the closest thing I could describe to it, but I could listen to your heart for hours."

"And how long have you been on my chest, listening?" I dared to asked.

Jasican smiled while laying his head back over my chest and simply said, "Hours."

Another long moment passed. Jasican placed his cold hand on my stomach and rubbed up to feel my chest, all bloodied and bruised just hours before. I could tell that Jasican was thinking the same thing, having laid eyes upon me after I freshly received all my wounds, how my heart sank at the thought of what he felt and thought after seeing me.

Jasican looked to be in deeper thought than I was and I wondered what he was thinking about. My mind automatically landed on Paul, thinking he might have been feeling bad about it, or at the very least considering my feelings, since he was my tribe mate. 

"Hey," I began, "if you thinking about Paul..."

"Hmm?" he brought his head up and laid his chin back on my chest. "Oh, ummm..." he began, looking like he didn't know what to say.

"Look, if you're concerned about what I think and everything...," I started.

"No," Jasican said quickly, "I mean, yeah, I do. I can't imagine it being a comfortable thought."

"Not particularly, no," I replied, "but I assure you if I ever got the chance, I would have killed Paul myself. I would have made that fucker bleed," I added, viciously, clenching my fist.

"Jacob, no," he pleaded with me. "It's bad enough that I have to be a killer, there's no reason why you have to be one also."

"But Jasican, I've already killed, I had to kill vampires..."

"That's different," Jasican shot back. "You know as well as I do that there are a lot of vampires out there that are killers themselves, monsters even."

"If you're gonna compare yourself to a monster again..."

"When have you ripped a human apart last?" he cast a cold stare at me.

My body reacted with equal chill. He did have a point, and it sends bullets in my heart every time I think about what Jasican had done so far. 

What he said next didn't help, "When I killed that little fucker, Paul, there was no hesitation," he said coldly. "I didn't think twice about compassion or redemption. I wanted to see his blood, I wanted to see him broken." I felt his fists clench tightly next to my body. "It's a lot different saying you want to kill someone, but to do it as fast and as heartless as I did it. For what he did to you, I would have killed him a thousand times over. I made sure that his death was the most brutal I could have conceived at that time. I'm out of control, Jake," Jasican said in near disparity. "And I really am surprised at how lightly you're taking this."

"Jasican," I said desperately and I quickly embraced Jasican in an attempt to calm him down. "Please, I hate seeing you like this. I know you're not a monster, you're a good person. Nobody ever said being a vampire was easy, and I can't claim to understand, but you can't one hundred percent control what you are. But despite that, despite being another species, you're still you."

I started stroking his back and I could tell he was at least becoming a bit more sedative. "It just takes time, I know a few vampires who started off like this, but turned out to be the most compassionate beings I know. Like I said before, it's you who has to live with what you've done, and the fact you already show remorse shows that there is hope."

Jasican looked up, particularly somber, and said, "I just can't believe you're still trying to condone my actions."

"I guess I am," I admitted, "but I know the alternative is me condemning what you've done, and that would mean me looking upon you with hate and contempt, and that's something I will not do. You alone have to deal with the thoughts of the ones you killed, not me. I'll help you out the best I can, like I always have, and I'll try to stop you from killing other humans. Of course, the vampires we're fighting are a different matter."

"That's another thing I'm scared of," Jasican replied. "You didn't see me, but after Godric was killed, I just simply lost control of everything. My powers grew exponentially, and I managed to singlehandedly take down numerous vampires through my powers. I even had Aro in my grasp. I seem to be growing more and more powerful and I don't know if I can control it at all. I could easily harm you with them without even realizing it."

I was starting to become lost for words. I really didn't know what to say to calm Jasican's mind, and I really was growing scared for him. The complexity of the situation was sinking in slowly and I could see what Jasican was trying to show me. 

"I'm sure if you talked to Carlisle, he would be able to help you with your powers," I said. "I remember when Bella first turned, she had the help of a few older vampires who showed her how to use her power and refined it. There has to be someone in the coven who can help you with that."

"We'll see," he said back, "Frankly, I'm not convinced, and I still feel like a ticking time-bomb."

"I have faith," I replied, "that time and effort is all you need to bring you closer back to the person I know you still are. You may not see it yet, but despite your vampire shell, everything you are is still in there."

"Perhaps, we shall see," he said simply.

We fell in silence again as Jasican resumed his position laying on my chest. I ran my fingers through his hair, as my body was feeling a bit more normal now, and I took in our conversation. I was scared, no doubt about it. About him, myself, our future, and what would happen to anyone else who was around him should he go off again. I didn't really know what to expect anymore, so much has changed in just a short time. With Godric gone, I'd have no idea if we would even continue his mission for vampire revelation. But whatever happens, I would always follow Jasican, anywhere he goes. My life depends on it. 

I was suddenly aware of a slight buzzing noise around the room. I noticed a fly zooming around from one wall to the next. But what captivated my interest was the fact that there was a scent coming from this fly, something that smelt terribly familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

The fly now changed course and landed in the center of a chair next to my bed. I felt Jasican stir a bit and turned to look at the fly. His body tightened and what happened next shocked the hell out of me. I yelled as the fly had expanded greatly in size and turned in to full grown naked woman, now sitting in the chair with arms and legs crossed. Jasican bolted up and sat upright to stare at the chick, blocking my view of her.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" he shouted at the woman. 

"I sensed Jacob was waking, so I decided to come down and see him," the woman replied almost coldly.

"What the hell is going on?" I exclaimed. "Jasican, do you know this chick?"

Jasican sighed, glancing once back at me, then back at the woman. "I figured you would have waited bit longer, to see if he was fully functional before wanting to talk to him. And for Christ's sake," Jasican reached for a nearby robe on the end table, "a bit more presentable for something of this magnitude."

While I couldn't see the woman's reaction, what little of her I could see had her body language suggest extreme annoyance, an emotion I was equally mirroring, as my patience was wearing thin. While she didn't say anything, she donned the robe and motioned for Jasican to move aside, to which he complied.

What met my eyes was beyond anything I could have ever hoped for. I had first thought I was dreaming, or that perhaps I had gone crazy. For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the face of my mother, completely unchanged since the last time I saw her, nearly fifteen years ago a short time before I was told she had been killed in a horrific car accident. I quickly flashed back to when my father had told me, the initial shock leading to his confinement to a wheelchair, and effectively sealing my life with him in near solitude, and near insanity. My sisters, Rebecca and Rachel, unable to bear the pain, left us, out of state, to pursue their own methods of emotional healing.

But what was before me, I couldn't comprehend. There was no way my mother could still be still alive, and able to stand before me now. "Hello, Jacob," she said, with sorrow in her voice. "It's...been a while."

She even sounded exactly the same, I felt completely numb all over. All I was able to muster was a small voice that came out of my mouth, "Mom?" 

She nodded her head, and for at least a moment, I snapped out of my stupor and said, "How...how is it that you're here? You're not supposed to be here."

"Jacob," she began, "I imagine there is much that was hidden from you, but I am not...not anymore."

"What do you mean 'not anymore'?" I repeated in complete disbelief. "Mom, you're supposed to be dead, from a car accident nearly fifteen years ago."

"I had a feeling Billy would say something to that effect," my mother had told me sourly. "I couldn't imagine him to have told you the truth about what happened that day, so long ago. The day he ripped me from my children, and tore us all apart."

My head was spinning, and I found words just spilling out of my mouth, "This isn't real, I cannot believe what I'm hearing, or even seeing. And why would Dad lie about what happened to you in the first place?!"

Mom sighed, and she answered, "I assume there are many things he hid from you, and you're not going to like the truth. In order for you to see, you have to trust me." She then place her hand around my neck and brought her forehead to rest upon mine, and before I had time to react, I was flashed with a flurry of images and emotions, and for a moment, I felt everything go limp.


	7. Chapter 7

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

I saw Jacob's eyes roll to the back of his head and I instantly started forward. But before I could do anything, Sarah had already taken her forehead off of Jacob's I looked in Jacob's face and his eyes were open wide, with his mouth hanging open slightly, almost as though he was in shock. I gave an incredulous look at Sarah and asked bluntly, "What the fuck did you do?!"

She narrowed her eyes for a brief moment at me before replying, "With our kind, especially Chimakuns, we are able to share a special connection with our offspring, called the Bridge, that is to say, the mothers whom gave birth to them. It's our way or reconnection should we ever lose each other."

"You'd better be telling me the truth," I nearly shouted. "I have ways of knowing whether you are lying to me and I swear if you did anything to harm or warp Jacob..."

"Well," Sarah said coolly, "Seems you aren't as different as I thought."

"Yeah?" I said caustically, but reducing my voice, "Well, you'll have to forgive me for being overly cautious. I nearly lost Jacob to a bunch of those Quileute fucks earlier and I'm not inclined to lose Jacob."

I walked slowly to Jacob and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jacob?" I said softly. "Are you okay?"

He looked at me, eyes normal once more, severely confused, but on the verge of tears, and said, "I...I don't know. What...what was all that? What did you show me?" He placed a hand on his head, then continued, "My head freaking hurts, and I'm seeing...things."

"I'm so sorry, Jacob," Sarah replied. "I know it's a lot to digest, but having to explain it all normally would take far more time and effort that we can afford right now."

"And what about the time and effort you should have given to come back?!" Jacob suddenly shouted. "Fifteen years, Mom, fifteen fucking years! I had to live with the image of your dead mangled body, or what I thought was your dead mangled body in that coffin. You know what Dad also told me?! I couldn't even afford one last look at you, since the coffin was nailed shut. I was only ten!"

Sarah looked to be momentarily at a loss for words, but Jacob pressed on, "I don't even know who to be angrier at, you, or my fucking father," he now stood up, and walked towards the window before turning back to Sarah, "You have absolutely no idea what you left me when you took off. Rebecca and Rachel also just took off after, leaving me alone to have to deal with Dad, taking care of him while he constantly ridiculed me for not living in his perfect way. And after I started phasing...he took it upon himself to use his position to almost live his life through me. It wasn't enough he had Sam to lord around to do his bidding, but then having both of them to answer to, day and night, with no rest, no respect, no privacy! It was fucking torture!"

Sarah just gave a sad look to Jacob; I didn't know what to say. Having never delved into his past family life, I was quite ignorant as to how to deal with one another's estrangement. Jacob was furious, about as much, if not more so that when he was yelling at Reneesme, but it was a deeper rage. Something he's had to deal with for the better part of his life. 

"Look, I didn't expect the Bridge to fully heal our damaged bond," Sarah began, "but try to understand that leaving you was my only option. If I had attempted to fight your father further, and the rest of the tribe, I would have risked harm to you and your sisters, and started a civil war between our tribes. I knew there would be a time where we would meet again, where I could receive another start and repair our relationship." She stood up and strolled over to Jacob, arms crossed, and said, "I don't know what else to say at this point, Jacob. I really am sorry for everything that's happened to you."

"Yeah, I know, you make it clear enough," Jacob's back was still turned to Sarah. "You'll forgive me for not exactly accepting you so easily, but I guess I'm more fucked up than I thought."

"None of this is any of your fault, Jacob, I wouldn't ask you too accept me that easily, given those circumstances," Sarah quickly shot in. "All I ask is for a chance. Please, don't reject me. I know I didn't make the best decision, but I swear to you I thought it was the right one."

When it became apparent that Jacob wasn't capable of words anymore, Sarah started to walk away, and looked back towards me, "I'm sorry, I couldn't wait. You have to understand." I sighed, and said, "Yeah, I know."

"I'll shift out of here, just so I don't arouse suspicion," Sarah said, about to take the bathrobe off, much to my distress. "When you're ready, Jacob, we'll talk more, and hopefully get back on a proper path. When you're ready," She repeated as she looked down and said, "I know it's difficult, but all I ask for is a chance. We shall speak again later," Sarah directed the last statement towards me. Within a moment, she shifted back into a fly and flew out the small crack in the window, leaving me and Jacob alone. I walked to him, Jacob still looking out to the distance, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at me and without a word, he embraced me, tears rolling down his eyes. I returned his embrace, trying to pour as much comfort as I could into him. All I could say to him was, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Jasican," he pulled back to look at my face. "I just...umm, I just don't know how to deal with this right now, my head's spinning. Besides," he let me go and started back towards his bed, "we've got other things to worry about."

"Now don't give me that, Jacob," I scolded. "I know you want to talk about it and that's what I'm here for. Don't shut me out."

"Well, what the hell am I supposed to say?" Jacob retorted. 

"Could you at least tell me what she did?" I asked as I sat down next to him. 

"She..." Jacob looked towards the floor and his eyes became a bit unfocused. "She showed my life with her, all from her perspective. I recognized my father, and how much she loved him. I could almost feel myself as an infant in her arms, something I could never remember. She showed me how she was forced to abandon me..."

"Then why..."

"I don't know!" Jacob shouted, standing up again, tears now rolling down his eyes. "I don't know what I'm feeling, or even what I'm thinking. Part of me wants to reject the whole thing because it seems so...alien. There isn't even a doubt in my mind that she's...my mother." He squeezed his eyes shut. 

I stood up and embraced him again. "I'm sorry," I repeated. "You're not expected to integrate this sort of situation into your life so soon, it takes time. Just give it a little while, don't overthink it and just let the pieces fall naturally."

"I'll try," Jacob sniffed. "You know, I often wonder if this whole emotional roller coaster we're on will ever end."

I sighed, "You and me both."

Just then, a knock emitted from the door. Carlisle had walked through the door and looked at both of us. "Oh good, Jacob, you're awake," he said casually. He walked towards us while saying, "How do you feel?"

"Umm, fine, I guess," Jacob replied almost soberly. 

Carlisle motioned for Jacob to sit back down on his bed as the doctor performed his tests. I casually paced the room as Carlisle was finishing, then I decided to quip, "Well, doc, is he still running fine?" with a smile. 

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and said, "Normal enough for everything not humanly normal," and I couldn't help but chuckle. Jacob looked at me with a sad smile, at least signaling he's attempting to cheer up. I took the time to ask Carlisle, "How's everyone holding up down there?"

His face didn't betray his emotions. I knew how he and the rest of his family must be feeling, and Jacob didn't even know about Jasper. I shuttered to think how he would react if he found out another Cullen has perished. "We're holding up as well as we can, but the rest of the coven are in shambles, to be quite honest," he said. "I'm not sure if anyone has the will left to continue Godric's endeavor."

"I'm not sure either," I replied to Carlisle. "How devoted was everyone to the revelation?"

"Well," he said, "we all did take similar oaths to help Godric with his revelation, but with him gone, some may feel it nullifies it, and that's not taking into account the one's who lost someone in the recent battle," I knew he was at the least partially referring to himself and his family. As much as his face didn't betray any emotions, I could see the pain in his eyes. 

"Yeah," was all I could say. It was going to be very hard to reign in followers should we decide to keep the coven going. And what of a leader? Esme already said Carlisle was unwilling to do so. I could ask Zoe, since she seemed to be higher up in the chain then the rest of the vampires here, but she was willing to hand the responsibility over to me. I found the thought to be completely fucking preposterous, to be completely honest. I'm only three days into being a vampire and I seem to be gaining a power a day, at my rate. I was scared for myself, but more for the people around me, and especially Jacob. 

Carlisle looked back at Jacob and said, "Well, you appear to be in good order. I'm not entirely sure if you're still suffering brain trauma, so I would exercise caution if you attempt to shift again."

"Okay, thanks," Jacob replied. Carlisle stood up and started to walk away, but stopped short of me and said, "I know what you're thinking, but know that you at least have a group who's willing to follow you, and depending on what happens, I'm sure I can keep my family around. If you wish..."

"Thank you, Carlisle," I retorted dismissively. "But I'm not entirely warmed up to that idea. In fact, none in the least." He just nodded his head and left the room.

"What did he mean by that?" Jacob asked.

"Well, it appears he's not the only one who believes, well, that I could lead this coven," I said uneasily as I walked back next to Jacob and sat next to him, placing my arms around him, which he readily returned.

"Really?" Jacob asked in genuine surprise. "Why would he think that?"

"They're basing it off my rescue mission, I presume," I replied. "I guess also the fact that typically, from what I hear, the most powerful vampire is the one to take control."

"Dude, that's nuts," Jacob replied. 

"I know, right?" I shot back. "I'm not calling into question their leadership choices, especially cause of Godric, but I'm concerned if this is the way all vampires see hierarchy, then how is everyone supposed to coexist peacefully, especially if the one toting the most power is corrupt, like Aro."

"Yeah, I can see it that way," Jacob said. "On the other hand, I can see the appeal, if at worse a necessary evil. I mean, if you have say a group of newborns wreaking havoc, you need the most powerful to keep them in line."

"But I am a newborn, Jake," shot back. "Who's gonna control me?"

"Hmm," was all he could say. I knew he wouldn't say himself, because of his Imprint, he's bound to me, not the other way around. And with my power growing...

We said nothing for a while, letting our thoughts wander into the distance, but unfortunately, mine kept me in dark places. The future looked bleak, no matter how I looked at it. Even if I had decided to run with Jacob, the Volturi knew about me now, and with Aro able to read every thought in my mind, he was able to ascertain how powerful of a vampire I was, especially in my newborn state. He wouldn't want to give me up so easily, my special abilities essentially placed a large target on my back. I was beginning to see no easy way out of this situation. I needed to at least be able to properly defend myself in case they come again. I just wasn't sure right now, there was still too many unknowns for me to make any informed decision. First and foremost, I needed to make sure Jacob was fully well. And this time, knowing that he's fully able to shift, and return to his former strength. I'm sure he was incredibly frustrated at the fact I had played his hero, twice. And I had to admit, I didn't fancy seeing Jacob as a damsel in distress. That thought at least made me crack the slightest of smiles, if only for a moment.

My mind had also crossed into the previous night, back when we rescued Jacob. My anger was seething, perhaps more than when I witnessed Godric ripped apart in front of me. On one hand, I hated how irrational it was to hate a species based in how they smelled, taking aside the fact they held Jacob hostage and tortured him. On the other, maybe it was the natural response for me wanting to wipe them off the planet. I was scared shitless on how powerful my rage could become, and how my special abilities would respond in kind. I knew I was dangerous, but the fact that I didn't know how much I was perhaps instilled the greatest fear of all, next to losing Jacob.

I was becoming aware of how small the room was becoming, and decided to find another place to spend time with Jacob. I looked back over his body, he seemed fully healed (again), but the last time I assumed that, I nearly lost him.

 

_Jacob's Point of View_

 

Whether Jasican and I were thinking the same thing, I had no idea. My mind was spinning out of control, one, from the obvious fact that I was just face to face with my own mother I thought was dead just a few moments again, as much as the gaps of my memory had been refilled after what I think happened last night. Not to mention the events of the previous night that contributed to the anger I felt at my former tribe mates.

All this time, I had no idea how low my own father would stoop to keep his own power. I mean, I guess it really shouldn't come as a surprise seeing how much of a dick he was to me my whole life. I've often wondered how it would be if I had my mother present with me. And what of Rachel and Rebecca? How could the truth have been hidden from them. This probably disturbed me the most, as to what method was used to either keep them quite about our mother, or whether they were told the same lie. And the chances of me finding out the other side of the story, with this new revelation, was about as good a chance as turning Jasican back into a human. And with him killing Paul, yup, I'm essentially an outcast forever. It was strange, to actually think about it now, and not so much two months ago. And to be honest, with everything I've been through, I don't think I'm gonna miss it as much as I think I am. 

The constant resetting of my life, I wasn't sure if it was gonna stay that way forever. And to be honest, I wouldn't know how my sanity would hold up. I really wish I could settle down and actually have a life somewhere. I thought it would be the case after I Imprinted on Jasican, but then he got turned, and was forcefully thrust into my world. I felt a shred of guilt in that instance, that possibly, if I had never showed up, maybe he would still have his human life in California. Maybe I was over-thinking it. One thing was for sure, no matter where I went, I knew it was certain Jasican would be with me. Although he doesn't possess shifter Imprinting, I was happy to see how much he cared about me and loved me, as I do him.

And what of my mother now? What's it going to be with her now back in my life, after thinking she was dead. I guess only time would tell. But at the moment, I was confused beyond all reason, and pissed off at the same time. The hole in my heart, gnawing at me since before I can remember, now yearns for the truth, more from my father than anything. His thought prompted another seed of anger. I wanted to beat the truth out of him, knowing that he lied to me, least of all. I didn't like being so pissed off, I had enough of that when I was still a teen and the years following that. I just want peace. 


	8. Chapter 8

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jacob's Point of View_

 

After a bit of effort, Jasican was able to convince me to leave the room and take a walk outside. He threw me some clothes he found in the nearby closet, convinced they would fit my massive form (much as he was probably unwilling to have me covered up again). We stepped out to find the hallway to the foyer completely empty save for two vampires, one comforting the other almost inaudibly. I could tell by their voice though that they were talking about someone they lost, and I felt insanely bad for them. It seems like everyone over the past few days has gone untouched by losses of loved ones. My mind flashed back to the Cullens, and how they must have felt after losing Rosalie. I don't think they could handle another death in the family, especially so quickly after another. 

We arrived at the back entrance to the palace, where Godric had taken us just a couple of days ago. I got an immediate sense of deja vu as we passed the door, looking to my left to see the hole Jasican punched into the wall after Godric had told him to run. I could tell Jasican was thinking the same thing, seeing him stop dead in front of the hole and observing it. He placed a hand upon the dent, possibly reminiscing about events only days passed. I couldn't help thinking the same thing, but an even scarier thought, of events that have yet to pass. I chose to push aside those thoughts and concentrate on the now. 

We continued walking down the path, into the nearby forest opposite of the cliff bordering the palace. My heart jumped a little in anticipation. I hadn't properly shifted in about three days, and I was anxious to see if I was still even capable of shifting. I was honestly afraid that I would instead of being Jasican's protector, I'd be his liability. I'll be damned if that becomes a reality. 

We didn't go terribly deep into the forest, just enough to prevent onlookers from spying on us (at least in my own head, I wasn't exactly sure of what Jasican was thinking at the moment). He finally turned around to look at me and said, "Are you ready?"

"Hell yeah!" I said with a smirk, quickly taking my clothes off and presenting my naked body to Jasican once more. 

I saw Jasican perform a mild facepalm and said, "You know what I mean."

"Aww, poor sport," I replied, still smiling. I'll admit that finding out if I still had my shifting abilities was my concern at the moment, but I was gonna get hard soon and Jasican was standing there, the beautiful being I came to love and Imprint on, ready for me to pounce upon him at a moment's notice.

I tried with all my effort to push the sex thoughts out of my head and attempted to relax. I still was a little apprehensive of trying this, since the last time resulted in splitting head pain. I let instinct take over and allowed my body to flow free. In less than a second, I leaped backwards with a growl and I felt my body expand and reform, only to land on four paws and standing near head level with Jasican, now panting instead of normal human breathing. I saw his face light up and he shouted out, "Fuck yeah!" before rushing forward to embrace my large furry head. While still retaining human thoughts, I found myself with a familiar wild feeling, similar to a yearning for a return to nature. It was really something, the feeling of energy flowing through you. 

Jasican took his head off of mine and he said, "Ready to run?" with a smirk on his face. He probably already knew I would beat him, shifters always were faster than vampires, and I gave an excited bark after him as he turned his back towards me. In an instant, he sped off into the distance, and I leaped forward, speeding passed trees with ease, letting my animal instincts fully take over, and keeping track of Jasican through his scent.

I spotted him within a few seconds, and I squeezed though a close set of trees in order to gain ground against Jasican and arrived side-by-side with him. We bobbed and weaved between the trees for about a minute before Jasican said, "How about a bit of practice for the both of us? Come get me!" and with another smile, he dug heal and launched himself upward towards the limbs of the trees. I stopped dead and watched as he flew about thirty feet up, landing softly on a thin limb and staying almost completely motionless in a crouched position. After a quick look, I found a suitable path up the trees to reach him. I started jumping one after another, covering ground (or lack thereof) within seconds. After reaching Jasican's level, I leaped forward at him, and before I had a chance to collide with him, he front-flipped over me and landed on the branch I was just on. He then started jumping from limb to limb, staying silent in his words, but I felt the words _Come at me_ appear in my head and I strengthened my resolve.

Being careful to stay on the more stable limbs, I shot my massive body forward in pursuit of Jasican. Being the lighter one, he was able to stay higher than me on the thinner branches while I as forced to stay down below. After a few moments of chase, I decided to risk gaining higher ground in order to catch Jasican. I had to admit, he was getting quite good at keeping himself out of my reach. Our latest encounters with the shifters must have given him perspective on how to fight us. Then again, he also has a massive advantage over normal shifters now...

I found an opening just a short distance away and I used it to snake my body around the branches, and in one fell swoop, I caught Jasican with my jaws and without clamping down too hard to injure him, I shot back down to ground level and landed softly on my paws. I gave a slight flick of my head as I released my jaws and send Jasican onto the forest floor. He just simply rolled over, propped himself on an elbow, and said, "You're breath stinks, Jacob. Need to get some doggy mouthwash for you."

I immediately shifted back to human form and shouted, "You little bitch!" laughing as I rolled to the ground, grabbing Jasican, and trying to force him into submission. He didn't really try to fight back, knowing I wasn't really gonna do anything, and we just ended up rolling around a few times before I ended up on top of him. We both smiled and I pressed my lips against his. The chill of his skin shot through my body as we kissed and he placed a hand on my head to deepen our kiss. After a few moments, my mind entered my own troll mode, and I brought my head back and asked, "Does my breath still stink?"

"Why you...!" and I got shoved over to his side as I was laughing my head off. He just simply smiled and looked at me. "Leave it to you to ruin a perfect moment," he said in feigned anger.

"Yeah, well, it seemed like the perfect moment the throw that in there," I replied, still chuckling. "C'mon, let's get back to the palace."

"Yeah," was all he said back. We started walking for a bit before Jasican found my clothes right where I left them and tossed them at me. I put them on and continued to walk with Jasican at a normal pace, both of us knowing that we needed to talk more. I decided to start first, "What's on your mind?" I asked.

"About as much as you can expect," he replied. "I'm not sure what to do at this point. So much has happened in such a small amount of time. I almost feel like I need rest."

"Yeah, I can see what you mean," I said. "Back when I was just starting out as a shifter, that's how it felt with me."

"Well, how did you deal with it?"

I merely chuckled, "I didn't. In those days, I didn't have a choice. As you can imagine, having to be an obedient dog to so many people, the Elders, my father, Sam, it massively sucked. There was a few times I nearly went mad." I closed my eyes at the memories. The countless times we were force to guard our land against threats we were all taught to perceive. Looking back, almost ten years ago, I think there were only two vampires that crossed us, but of course, one brought a small army, and that was because of Bella. And even though I knew the Cullens were never a threat, we were still taught to hate them. It eased off after I Imprinted with Reneesme, but I could still see into Sam's mind. He channeled a lot of what the Elders had taught them, but to think of the now, I doubt he still holds on to their ideas. He seems to have taken things into his own hands.

"I'm really sorry," Jasican said. "I can't imagine what that must have been like."

"Don't be, Jace," I said with a smile. "I've had a few things in my life that make it all better, and I'm standing next to the best one right now." He just smiled and turned his head. I bet if he could blush, he would. I didn't have to read into Jasican much to know he's never really had anyone to care about him this much, not even that little fuck, Jeremy.

"You know we don't have to stay here," I said cautiously. "I mean, I don't know..."

"No, believe me, I've thought about it too," he replied. "But I've been running every scenario possible, and just leaving here and living like none of this happened isn't really an option. I mean, when we were all in the forest, during the fight, the head, Aro, he literally saw everything, found out everything about me, including the powers I had. I suspect he isn't going to give me up easily, or the others who were with me."

"They all had powers also?" I asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, every one of them," he said. "He didn't kill any of us, only Godric because Aro said he was 'too far gone' or whatever bullshit reason he came up with." His tone became sour, and I couldn't blame him. I knew he wanted some retribution for the death of his maker, but even with Jasican and his emotion state being ever so sensitive, I could tell he wasn't the person to actively seek revenge. But I could easily be wrong.

"Also, if I remember correctly," I chimed in, "if the whole Guard was here, there was one who works for Aro that Carlisle said was the best tracker in the whole world. Whether that's true or not, I have no idea, but Carlisle's been around for a long time, so I think I can at last trust that."

"Hmm, that doesn't exactly make me feel better."

"Sorry."

We walked a bit more before the forest started to thin out and we could see the palace again. It was about mid-day now, but the winter clouds had covered the sky once more, effectively blocking out the sun. I could make out a few vamps walking around the outer walls, next to the garden.

"I'm thinking that no matter what I do, I'm gonna end up being a target for Aro," Jasican said. "At the least, I need to learn how to train my body in case I need to fight. Instinct and unpredictable powers can't continue to keep saving me, I need to know what to do."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," I replied back. "I suspect you could just learn from the Cullens-"

"No, I don't think they would be in a position right now to teach anyone right now," he shot back. "At least not for a little while. No, I think I'm gonna have to go to some of my newfound allies."

"The ones who helped you rescue me?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how old they are, or how long they've been in the coven for, but I'm sure at the least, while we all get resettled and ready to go again, I can learn a few things from them."

"I guess we've decided to stay then?" I asked soberly.

Jasican just sighed. I could tell he was reluctant to even be back near this place, but if I could agree with him on one thing right now, is that we didn't have a choice. And this whole thing with my mother, I knew it wasn't just going to go away on it's own. I still hadn't even thought about that as much as I should, maybe because it was still so surreal in my head. I wasn't sure what to do at this point, but I needed to figure it out fast.

"I'll help them try and find a leader," Jasican finally said. "I just can't do it, I'm not the right person to lead, but I can't run away either. Every scenario puts me right back into the Volturi's path somehow, whether it'll be days, weeks, or years for me. I don't think I have a choice."

I didn't say anything back, I knew there was no need to. Jasican knew I would follow him wherever he went, and he was right: neither of us together can face an entire ancient coven and live. As much as I hated to admit it, our lives depended on our coexistence with Godric's coven, and that would mean he at the least would have to learn how to fight and control his powers.

"I'll talk to Zoe, see what she's got cooking up," Jasican said. "Maybe we could all put our heads together and find a way out of this mess. Of course, I can't speak for the others here. I can imagine there's a few who just want to leave and never come back."

He wasn't the only one feeling that way. As much as I've grown to coexist with vampires, I'm really getting tired of being shoved into vampire-related problems. But I have no home to go back to, so my choice is obvious.


	9. Chapter 9

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

Jacob and I finally made our way back through the backdoor and into the hallway we had previously walked, but instead of going to any particular room, we headed straight down into the main foyer. We found it reasonably empty, with only few vampires hanging around near the entrance hall archway. I spotted the broken tiles near the center of the floor, and with a start, I realized I had almost completely forgotten about keeping Raymond under my control, and while Jacob was looking the other direction for a brief second, my body vibrated as I searched for my connection. I was relieved to find it was still intact, and he was right where Micah had left him. 

I walked over to Godric's office, where I had found the door already open. Inside were Zoe, Lydia, and Bill, all conversing with each other near the desk with the world map on it. They instantly fell quiet at the sight of us and Zoe walked towards us. "Hey guys. Good to see you're up and about, Jacob."

"Thanks," he replied. 

Zoe looked back at me as I asked, "How's everyone doing?"

"Not well," she replied. "To put it bluntly, we're in shambles. We haven't heard from the Denali Coven as of yet and Carlisle is still trying to keep their family together after losing another."

I heard Jacob make a noise behind me as it dawned on me again he didn't know about Jasper. I turned around and said, "I'm so sorry, I forgot-"

"Who?" Jacob said, fighting back tears. 

I told him about Jasper and how Raymond had him killed to blind Alice's visions during the battle. Jacob looked quite beside himself, and as I finished, he promptly asked, "Where are they?"

"Fourth floor antechamber, last I checked," Zoe replied. 

"I'm gonna check on them," Jacob declared, lightly staring off into the distance. Without a word, we squeezed hands for a second and he the office, leaving me with another horrible feeling in the pit of my heart.

Zoe seemed to already know what I was thinking, "There's nothing you could have done, Jasican."

"I know," I replied, "but it still doesn't make me feel better. And he's already had to deal with so much, too much reality."

"It's a war, dude," Bill chimed in. "There ain't no way you can avoid any of this."

"Well, forgive my naiveté, but I wasn't prepared when I agreed to do this thing that we would have to constantly be struggling for our lives."

"And now you're getting a taste of what naïveté can bring you," Lydia replied. "If the coven were to continue, you have got to accept a degree of vigilance, otherwise, you may as well just stand in front of them like a piece of meat."

"Hmm," was all I said. "Well, I've accepted I can't run, and I need to learn how to properly train myself. Like I told Jacob, I can't continue to go around winning fights based on instinct and pure rage with powers. I'm only three days into being a vampire and there's still a lot I need to learn."

"Agreed," Lydia replied. "As I was telling the other two, while you managed to rope together a successful rescue mission, that hardly qualifies you to lead us. But the other two have more grander, optimistic thoughts on the matter."

"Look," Zoe said, "I'm not waving this around blindly like an idiot, but I know what my gut was telling me, and I know Blaine didn't make it, but I feel I was sent to Jasican for a reason."

"You can't expect-"

"If Godric was concerned about gaining ground on a fight he already knew he couldn't win, don't you think he would have thrown Jasican head first into the battle? No, I'm willing to bet he was hoping for Jasican to survive in case something were to happen to him."

"It's foolish!" Lydia scolded. "To think that Godric would place all of his hopes on a newborn in the event of his death. And although he didn't know about Raymond's betrayal, he was Godric's designated Second, so as much as you didn't like him before this mess, Zoe, he was to be the next leader."

"Guys, this really isn't the time to debate this," I chimed in. "Zoe, is there anyone else here who is qualified to lead the coven, that the vampires here can trust?"

Zoe sighed, "No. I've been polling the remaining vamps here, and most of them are too scared to even continue. Not a single person has gone untouched by death here."

"And what about you guys?"

A moment of silence passed before anyone had spoke. "The Volturi have always been a risk," Zoe began, "but I've been with Godric a long time, and I'm devoted to see his revelation through."

"It's not easy, but most of us did know what we were signing up for," Bill added. "Ain't no way I'm leaving now, especially with what we've been through. I'd rather go down fighting than running away."

Lydia sighed, "As much as I'd like to disagree, I think we've all painted a rather large target on our backs, seeing as the Volturi chose to attempt to capture us, not kill us, and for our abilities nonetheless."

"Speaking of which, did Raymond know about any of your abilities?" I decided to ask.

"Hmm," Zoe mused. "I'm not entirely sure, it wasn't something we'd necessarily divulge to the rest of the coven. I know my linguistics ability came into play a few times before whenever we encountered a language barrier. I can't speak for everyone else." She looked at Lydia and Bill.

"Yeah, Godric knew," Bill replied.

"Same here," Lydia added.

"Well, if Godric had shared any of your abilities with Raymond, that would explain how the Volturi were willing to keep us alive," concluded.

"But why wouldn't they try and keep the Cullens alive?" Bill asked. "They killed Jasper, remember, and he had the ability to feel and change people's emotions."

"I don't think his pathokinesis was a legitimate excuse to keep Jasper alive," Lydia coldly retorted. "Not that I'm trivializing his life, but Aro probably didn't see too much use in him, more so to use his death to blind Alice, as you have figured out," Lydia nodded her head at me, "and not to mention their long-standing beef with the Cullens. I can figure, like they did with Godric, if they spend enough time and resources attempting to bend someone to their will, and ultimately refuse, you'll end up dead."

"Not a rather bright future," I sighed. "Either join or be killed. Exactly what we're all trying to prevent."

"Yes," Zoe said definitively. "That is why I feel it's important more than ever to rally whomever we can and keep this coven going. I'm sure the other will feel the same once they know the actual threat level we're facing."

"Ha," this time it was me who chimed in, "not exactly a pleasant thought to think that we would end up baiting the Volturi to come back based on our powers, not because of our revelation plans, and end up viewing the rest of the coven as disposable. Yeah, I'm sure that will sit extremely well with the other vamps."

Zoe let out a grunt of frustration. "Well, we just can't sit here and do nothing!"

Just then, we heard a knock at the door and I saw Sarah standing (thankfully fully clothed this time) within the doorframe. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation as I was passing by," she said, walking in the room."

"What is it you want, shifter?" Lydia said with narrowed eyes. I gave her a look.

She ignored Lydia and looked at me, "I've been hearing a lot of this 'Volturi' lately and you never answered my question earlier about what you did to piss them off."

I looked at the others and we stayed silent for a moment. I took it upon myself to answer, given I've been the vampire who's conversed with her the longest. "Well, you know the basics about them, they're another vampire coven, far older than us, and fashion themselves the de facto leaders of all the vampires in the world. Up until recently, they have gone relatively unchallenged, but we've, I mean, the late head of this coven, Godric, had taken it upon himself to lead a coven to break their repressive hold over the vampire world."

"A vampire rebellion?" Sarah asked, looking intrigued. "That's not something you hear about everyday."

"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that," Zoe said. "It's not something we can exactly go into details about, I'm certain you'll understand. With our current relationship between shifters and vampires, I don't thing you exactly find our goals comforting."

"Hmm, well, I believe there was a certain someone here who said we should put aside what we cannot control and learn to coexist," Sarah said, looking at me. "You won't find many shifters with such a progressive attitude with regards to our species' relationship, but you helped save my son, and I can see you speak the truth about you and him. Imprinting is no small feat for us, and I can tell you love him very much."

I didn't feel it appropriate to bring up my relationship with Jacob out of the dark like that, but I ignored it, nonetheless. "Well, that makes me happy to hear. Of course, I can still surmise by your body language that you don't trust us."

"Oh, none in the least," she replied, nonchalantly. "Not as far as I can throw you, which, ironically, is quite far." I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the weak attempt. 

"If it helps you also, we don't trust you either," Lydia quipped, much to my annoyance. "Sorry, but I like to keep my head in the real world, and we have a lot of history between shifters and vampires. Bad history."

"I see," Sarah simply said. "And I heard something about a 'revelation'. Anyone care to tell me what's that about?"

Lydia didn't wait for silence before quipping, "Again, trust issue. That's something you and the rest of your shifters will know nothing about, until the unlikely event that we learn to trust one another and work together."

"Hmm, fair enough," Sarah replied. "Just know that if it involves bringing harm to humans, you know we'll have to intervene."

"No, no," I said, my hand out, "believe me, we value human lives as much as you do."

"Yes," Zoe decided to finally speak up. "In fact, none of the vampires here feed off of humans anymore. We're teaching them to survive off of alternative methods."

"Alternative methods?" Sarah asked in disbelief. 

"Yes," Zoe repeated. "we feed off the blood of animals to survive."

"Ah, yes," Sarah said, "I've often heard of vampires who have claimed to have turned from human blood, and thus, are dubbed the 'Golden Eyes', at least by the Chimakuns. But make no mistake, I don't believe in the slightest that you are doing the humans any favors by simply killing off the animal kingdom, which you have to admit, explains how a lot of the recent endangered species ended up on their respective lists."

"Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves here," I broke in.

"Yeah, don't forget," Bill chimed in also, "that humans have been poaching and killing animals for far longer than we have adopted the animal feeding method, which has only been thriving, at the most, for only ten years."

"Maybe so, but I can see the future of this," Sarah said coolly, "and even if you manage to get all the vampires to accept animal blood, which I highly doubt, what's to keep you sustained if you were to kill off the whole animal kingdom years down the line? What will you do then?"

"We've only just begun this endeavor," I said, "and already, dooming us to fail because of your cynicism? Jeez, you're not leaving a bright future for us, Sarah."

"From my experience, vampires never have a bright future."

"That doesn't matter!" I shouted. "How the hell do you expect us to survive if we have no alternative means of sustaining ourselves? At least this coven trying to keep ourselves from killing humans for food, and trying to teach others to do the same. But the thing that's concerning me the most, right now, is the fact that there are vampires out there, the very ones that we are fighting, who glorify killing humans for their blood, and have been around for thousands of years, and you're concerning yourself about what may happen in the far future? What about now? What about the damage they can cause should they feel to wipe us out and go unchecked in their feeding frenzy? Who's to say that you'll be able to fight them off, or even survive for that matter?"

"Don't underestimate our numbers," Sarah pointed a finger at me. "We are more than capable of defending ourselves, especially against your kind!"

"And don't underestimate the Volturi's resolve," this time, Zoe spoke up. "We already underestimated their numbers once, and that cost us dearly." I would have been very surprised if Sarah didn't see the shadows pass in front of our faces. "They hold no love for shifters, and if they want you dead, they can make it happen. And I'm not saying this as a random threat, it's unfortunately the truth."

Sarah was about to say something what I cut her off, "Don't forget that if they really wanted to, they can turn humans into vampires and unleash an army of newborns. My turn for cynicism, and what's to say you're gonna be popping out more shifters than vampires? They could have shear numbers in about five days, under their master's control, and what will you have? The threat is larger than you realize, don't let pride cloud your judgment." I felt weird saying that last line, as it echoed Godric.

Sarah just looked at me for a moment, before replying, "You seemed to be fluent in putting me in my place. Not exactly a comforting thought, especially coming from vampires."

"Trust me," I said. "If I could find a way to erase that sentiment, and bring peace between our species, I would. But we're struggling even to unite other vampires under our banner right now. We don't even have a leader anymore."

"Well, why don't you find one?"

"We're trying to," Lydia finally spoke up again, "but as you can see, moral is incredibly low here, as is trust, and we don't exactly have many qualified vampires here to take head spot."

"Hmph," Sarah scoffed. "Then I suggest that you get your shit together before attempting any of your goals, or you'll find even defending yourselves a difficult challenge," and without another word, she left the room.

"Ugh, this is bullshit," I said outloud. "We've got nothing to work on, right now. What the hell are we gonna do?"

"We'll find a way, Jasican," Zoe replied. "It's gonna take a little while, but we'll manage."

"First things first," Bill said, "is that you need to start training your body and mind, Jasican. No sense keeping you as a loose newborn forever."

"Agreed," I nodded. "So, shall we get started?"


	10. Chapter 10

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

Over the next few weeks, things around the palace thankfully remained quiet. The seven remaining Cullens seemed to be doing a bit better after losing another family member, and Alice was unable to see any Volturi activity that would lead them back here anytime soon, which left most with a sigh of relief. While she and a few others appeared to be in good spirits, I knew the pain of two losses rang within their hearts, and I wouldn't be surprised if at least one or more yearned for revenge, as much as they've been taught to control themselves. 

Jacob didn't take the news of Jasper's passing too well, and there were a few days where he would sit in silence, immersed in thought. I knew he probably wouldn't admit it openly, especially after Reneesme, and his history with the Cullens, but he truly loved them like a second family. And both deaths have hacked away at his heart, in addition to losing his actual family and friends from his former tribe, and the recent development of his mother still alive after nearly fifteen years of estrangement, and finding out his own father lied to him about his mother, I'm surprised he's still sane. I knew he was a strong person, but like myself, I'm wondering when his own breaking point will be reached.

Sarah's attempts to reach Jacob in that retrospect have been less than successful. I could tell she was trying her best to connect with him and restore their mother-son bond, but Jacob had spent a lot of time with the Cullens, even now seeking them out for some of his emotional support as the rest of the coven, the ones who haven't left yet, recover from their losses. And with no leader, there really wasn't an official way for us to liaison with the shifters. I attempted to continue talking to Sarah and show my willingness to keep an open dialogue between vampires and shifters, but she told me there wasn't too much more she could do here now that she knew Jacob was safe. Having fulfilled her purpose here, Sarah set off about a few days after her initial arrival to head back to her tribe, but not without a somewhat playful warning that she would be back. 

As Jacob was keeping company with the Cullens, I took the opportunity during the days to begin my training, to further hone my skills. Since no one else really had anything to do, Zoe and Bill were more than willing to help me with my training. As I had taken karate lessons over ten years ago, and only then for a year and a half tops, so I didn't hold myself in high regards for that particular aspect. I found learning to adapt to my new body relatively easier than I thought, though. My muscles still held the old reflexes from my former classes, and with my newfound energy and speed, I surprised myself on how well I was able to fight. Combining what I had learned from Bill and Zoe with what I learned before, in addition to utilizing the environment around me, I had found the body training was the easiest part. I had remembered that Bill mentioned he was former CIA, so fighting for him must have been a cinch, but I was curious about Zoe. Although she was a vampire, her natural facial features suggest unless otherwise, she wouldn't harm a fly. 

I occasionally met with the other four vampires from the rescue mission: Lydia, Brett, Ty, and Micah, the latter three whom were about as adamant about having me lead the coven as Zoe was. I quickly rebutted them, again citing that I'm far too wild to even consider taking such a responsibly. I was grateful though that Micah had sent Raymond to what was considered to be a "vampire-proof" room in the palace, and placed under guard, so that my mind would have time to relax, as at the time, I had Raymond under a mental hold for about a week and a half, and it really was mentally stressing. For the time being, thankfully, I didn't have to much conversation time with many of the other vampires. What time wasn't spent training with Bill and Zoe, was spent with Jacob, during the times he wasn't with the Cullens, and thankfully, as the weeks progressed, his emotional dependency on them lessened congruent with their mourning period. For the time spent together, it was mostly just the company of one another that prevailed our current desires, but for the others, we were able to make use of the time with whatever bonding events we were able to make use of.

It was about mid-day Zoe, Bill, and I chose to use the forest to conclude my conditioning as a vampire. Although I reluctantly agreed, Bill said that it would still take time to fully train my body in order to achieve the control over it I desired. As a newborn, still possessing my own human blood (and Jacob's, but nobody needed to know that), I would naturally lack the natural grace of a more mature vampire, and that it would take time for my body to fully adjust to my new form. My powers, on the other hand, have thankfully tapered off, and there would be entire days devoted to training my mind to control those powers. Zoe had volunteered for for the majority of my tests, and during the first few days of practice, while I was able to control one aspect of my mental powers, others would tend to spiral out of control when I tested them.

The first power I was able to master quickly was, incidentally enough, the first one I had unknowingly used at the time: while not a full version of telepathy, I was able to send messages to other people I concentrated on, but not receive them, like Edward and Aro can accomplish, and if focused hard enough, can cause the thought to be compelling enough to follow. I found this would be useful if I needed to reach someone if we didn't already have a means of communication, and that I was able to stretch my mind out to touch people remotely that I may want to send messages to. The second power gained proficiency in was the latest power I used, the one on Raymond, where I was able to enter a person's mind through touch and access their memories. This one was an odd power, as whenever I accessed memories, my voice would change to whomever else was speaking in the memory, and together, with the person I'm "melding" with (I had to find another term for this, I'll be damned if get called a Vulcan vampire for this), we would speak out the entire dialogue of that memory, completely involuntary. I figured I'd have use for this if I had to interrogate someone, especially if someone on the outside could identify the voice I'm now adopting. The last power I currently knew of, the one I feared the most, easily took the most time to even control: my ability to mentally dominate someone. I had found that my emotions played an important role in just beginning to unlock my powers.

The first three times I used this power, it was completely based off of instinct and the heighten emotion I was feeling at the time, mainly my sense of protection over Jacob the first two times, feeling he was in danger, and the third time, after Godric was killed, my anger and rage. Other than that, I had trouble experiencing this power without having to succumb to the latter emotions. I struggled hard to remember my fourth time using my domination, against Sam and his shifter pack, and what emotions specifically I was feeling at the time. Not to mention how I was able to command only portions of another's mind at my choice, such as in Sam's case, inhibiting all function except his voice, and my brief moment when I had placed a mental holder, so-to-speak, onto Raymond after his betrayal and subsequent incarceration. Often times, my frustration would often fuel anger within me and I would end up dominating Zoe and my own instinct would replace hers, leading to violent actions that Bill had to help me stop. Both were trying their hardest to help me, but regularly had to calm me down. I knew both still had hopes for me, but even trying to work one thing at a time proved difficult for me.

Eventually, Bill had conceived the idea to use one of my existing powers to provide me with a back door into a person's mind. He figured if I was already able to touch upon a person mentally and was able to telepathically sent them thoughts, why not use that to push further and encompass the mind. After a few attempts, as I sent Zoe out mental thoughts, concentrating on that connection to her mind, I was able to slowly take portions of her mind at a time and after a time, envelope her mind completely. This prompted the largest progress gain in my mental training, but I was still far from full proficiency, as with the back door method, it took a greater amount of time, and just using emotion prompted a much quicker and efficient domination, but at the expense of my lack of mental control, I found most of my commands were severely limited and tend to be more reactionary.

We finally arrived at our normal forest training spot in a rounded clearing a few miles from the palace. I had a fleeting thought in the back of my head, but it didn't intensify until we were about to reach the clearing. If there was to be any more training this last day, it would be minimum, and Zoe and Bill would want to do more talking. After about a thirty minute review of everything I learned, everyone stopped and the moment I dreaded came to fruition.

"Jasican?" Zoe said.

"Yes?" I asked cautiously.

"Listen," she began. "I know you said that you wouldn't lead the coven, and I'm sure your mind hasn't changed much in the last few weeks, but we've been talking to the other guys and we've all decided, even Lydia," she noted with my skeptic face emerging, "that we would gather the coven, try again for the Denali Coven, and vote on our new leader."

I couldn't help but laugh, "And what makes you think that they're going to choose me? I know we've spent a lot of time together, so I know you haven't been secretly convincing the rest of the coven to vote for me in some vampire election."

"But we have talked to them," Bill replied, "and most are willing to follow you if you show you are willing to make the effort to continue this coven."

I gave them both a look and said scornfully, "You two had better not have been training me this whole time as a hope that you would raise me to be your new leader, cause I would be super pissed off."

"Look, we've put in our time and effort to properly prepare you in case we need to fight again," Zoe started.

"That still doesn't mean--."

"Listen!" Bill shot out, "your argument for not leading us was because you were an unexperienced vampire, too out of control, and 'a bomb waiting to go off at any moment.' I would like to think that this entire time, spending day after day trying to get you to control yourself, that you would at least look at the possibility again."

I gave a frustrated sigh. These vampires were persistent, if not completely stubborn. Why couldn't they see that I was not meant to be their leader? "What if I fuck up?" I asked. "What if I make decisions that could end up making our situation worse, killing us all, and bringing humans down in the process? At least I know Lydia can keep things realistic, but you guys are giving me way too much credit and are holding too much optimism in me."

"With your strength and abilities, you would be an effective threat against the Volturi," Zoe said. "You have over two millennia worth of power running through your veins, you are a child of Godric, and you have the ability to command anyone at your will. You were almost born to do this!"

"Except I wasn't!" I shouted. "Before I was turned, I was a fucking meat cutter who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time when those freaks decided to kidnap, torture, and almost kill me. Do you honestly think that Godric would have known anything about me before he turned me? I hate to mirror Lydia's sentiment, but even I highly doubt he created me with such an intent as to lead, let alone a weapon against the Volturi."

"But--."

"ENOUGH!" I blasted out. "Listen, I appreciate everything you two have done for me, but don't you dare use this as a form of blackmail to coerce me into becoming your leader, because it's not going to work. I may have a bit more control under my belt, but if you want my opinion, it's not even close to being enough. I'm sure there are older vampires out there who would be more qualified to lead this coven to a successful revelation and the defeat of the Volturi, but it isn't going to be me. Godric had years and a vision; who am I to claim I can continue just as well?"

All I got in response was two very intense looks from Bill and Zoe. "Have your election, but it's won't make a difference. You'll be digging your own graves," and without another word, I turned and went back into the forest, speeding towards the palace after a moment of normal walking. I stopped about midway through when I caught a familiar scent. I turned around to see Sarah, dressed in a simple beige tunic and her hair tied in a braid, wearing a slight smile.

"I was wondering when I would see you again, Sarah," I greeted her.

"Yes, well, I was on my way back here when I happen to hear your voice clear across the mountain," Sarah replied, "so I decided to let my guard go on ahead and I would do a little investigating."

With narrowed eyes, I replied, "I see," while turning around and walking towards the palace at human speed, motioning her to follow me. "And what have you eavesdropped on this time?"

"Now, now," she brought out a false tone of pain, "any more of that and you may turn me into a spy."

"Well, who's to say that you are not, but it is no consequence to me, regardless," I said. "We are still a broken coven without a leader, and I doubt even your tribe would want to waste time on a bunch of mourning vampires without a clue as to their own future."

"Ah, but quite the contrary," Sarah's tone brightened, "that's exactly why I'm here. I relayed to the Chimakun Elders everything I learned while I was here, including some of the pieces you had unknowingly handed to me by means of 'eavesdropping', and together, we came up with a startling conclusion. One so outrageous, it took some time for us to understand the gravity of this situation."

"And that is?"

"That this coven's purpose is to reveal your existence to the humans," Sarah stopped and stared at me, her own eyes growing intense. "I had my suspicions about why a group would go so far as to defy their leaders, but to resort to this?!"

"The Volturi aren't our leaders," I shot in before she could say anything else. "They fashion themselves as the leaders of the vampire world simply because they are the oldest and most powerful of our kind, and they have effectively wiped out anyone else who had attempted to get in their way. They have no established law and there was never a consensus on the legitimacy of their rule."

"But to even think of exposing yourselves to human--."

"Was Godric's dream," I cut in. "He had spent hundreds of years trying to figure out a way to effectively dethrone the Volturi and eventually, he figured after a couple thousand years, he was tired of hiding himself from humans." Through Zoe and someone of the other members of the coven, I was able to get a brief history of Godric. "Think about it, the possible millions of vampires no longer having to hide themselves from humans. With the adoption of our animal diet, we can teach vampires to peacefully coexist with humans."

"You can't honestly think this will work," Sarah's voice grew scornful.

"You're right, I don't," I admitted. "We've got nothing to work with right now and our coven is stagnant." I started walking again. "We can't even find a replacement leader, much less find the will to continue."

"And if you do?"

"Well," I began, "I'm not sure. Godric had time and secrecy on his side, but we were betrayed, and the Volturi now know of our goals. They're not going to let us go so easily, and I'm willing to bet they're just waiting for the right moment to strike again."

"What made them leave last time?"

I grew uneasy at this question, "Uhh, it was because of me."

"You?"

"Yes, I had driven the Volturi away myself."

This time, Sarah laughed out loud, "How in hell did you-"

I focused my mind on her and sent out, _I have certain abilities that allow me to perform certain actions regarding the mind of another._

Sarah stopped dead and looked at me. I just simply smiled and she said in a quiet voice, "What did you do?"

"Since I was turned, nearly a month ago, I found I possessed powers that essentially allow me to communicate my thoughts with others, see their memories, and effectively dominate the mind of another, and I have slowly been training myself to gain control of these powers. But the use of the last one, with as much revenge and anger coursing through my body after watching my maker, Godric, killed right before my eyes, turned me into an effective weapon against the Volturi, even having their leader in my grasp. I killed many vampires that day."

Sarah was now left speechless. I didn't have to ask, but I knew I just now showed her how much greater of a threat I truly was than she had anticipated. "Know this, that these abilities never came into play while I was with your son. Jacob's Imprint had left me with the choice of leaving him or not, and I've had no desire to. I've never asked him to do anything that I knew would have caused him harm or otherwise. Believe me when I say we've tried to normalize our relationship as much as we could, but under our circumstances, it's proven to be very difficult. I've repeatedly express me own discontent to him, how I thought I was dangerous to both him and the people around me, but he's as stubborn as ever, and believes that my sanity will prevail, and that I will grow to be great vampire."

"Hmm," her voice sounded undaunted by my words. "that remains to be seen. I know you tried to form a connection with me before my departure, but none of that included your revelation and the emergence of your powers. I'm not sure what I can do at this point, but the Elders have ordered me to keep an eye on you, to make sure that you don't do anything that would put humans in harm's way, but my own personal interpretation is that your revelation will pose a great danger to humans, and when that time comes--."

"You'll kill us all, I know," I replied. "I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. I would wish for peaceful coexistence for all of our species, not just between vampires and humans, or vampires and shifters."

"You wish for a lot of things, Jasican," Sarah began walking again, "but is it you who is going to make it happen, or someone else?"

"Now you sound like someone of my compatriots," I responded, "they seemed to think that I am capable of leading the coven."

"And are you?"

"Do I even need to answer?" I asked sarcastically. "I'm flattered they think I can do it, but I can't believe I'm a good alternative to Godric. I'm sure if he was still alive, he would have had a much better time convincing you that our goals are just and that he would have planned the best way to carry out the revelation."

"I'm sure," Sarah's condescending tone matched mine, "but he's not, and I now must decide how I'm going to act should you either wish to continue as you are, or if by some chance, you do end up becoming the leader. You are dangerous either way."

"Yeah, can't argue with that," I agreed. "We're just taking it one step at a time, as is Jacob. He may be dealing with a lot, but I'm sure eventually he'll open up, just as I'm hoping you'll open up to us, and the coven will open up to you."

"Ha, you are ambitious," Sarah said. "We'll see how our realities play out."


	11. Chapter 11

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jacob's Point of View_

 

My paws made light patters as I sped back towards the palace after joining Seth on another hunting session. While I didn't interact with any more vampires than I needed to, I was glad that none of them took issue with Seth staying with us, and he knew the Cullens as well as I did, so he whatever time he didn't spend with just me, was spent hanging around them. Edward was still one of his best friends, even though the recent conflict had hampered their communications, so I didn't have to worry about him, despite the fact he's only a few years younger than me. I guess you could say he's a bit like a younger brother, but I didn't need to treat him as such. He had enough of that under Sam. 

Aside from what I already knew about Sam essentially taking over La Push, the only other major thing Seth told me about was that Leah had gone missing about a week after I ran away from the Cullens to California almost three months ago. This troubled me deeply, if she had merely been exiled as I was, she would have tried to meet up with me, or anyone really. We didn't say anything, but I know Seth and I were thinking the same thing and that something had happened to Leah. I promised him the first chance we got, we'd look for Leah, since neither of could pick her up through our shifter telepathy. She could be in Alaska or Argentina for all we know.

Even though it's been a few weeks, my mind was still swimming with thoughts and memories bearing down on me. Try as I may, I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact I now have a living mother. I know she's trying her best to reconnect with me, and if it wasn't for her mental thing, I probably would have flat out rejected her, but there just wasn't anything clicking there, and my mind doesn't want to be making that connection. I know I really can't fault her; shifter laws are very binding, and since she was from another tribe (which with finding out I'm half-Quiluete, half-Chimakun, means I really am a mutt), I knew she wasn't lying about being exiled. While I was exiled myself, my Quileute blood still allowed me access into La Push. It would be only by force that I would fully be kept out of the reservation for good, but seeing as I had no desire to go back, that point is probably moot.

I suppose this is one of those things that require a therapist, if there was such thing as a shifter therapist; with everything happening in my life the was it has, I guess I can't be surprised that I'm having trouble connecting with my mother (it's gonna take me a long time to get used to saying that). It just seemed incredibly awkward every time I would even try to talk to her. I mean, where would we begin? What we've done with our lives in the past fifteen years? If she was still around before I had begun shifting, I probably would have had a chance to establish a better connection, a more human connection, but with both of us essentially living under the woods for the duration of our shifter lives, the supernatural aspect was definitely putting a dampener on ever getting any true help for either of us. I just have to learn to take it as it comes, and keep an open mind, since I know it wasn't any easier for her. If even I don't give her a chance, how would I be any better than dad?

We broke through the forest border and I spotted the palace just ahead. Living here with Jasican seemed weird at times. I've been used to living in small places, my dad's house for the majority of my life, and then with Jasican in his apartment for the two months before shit hit the fan. I wasn't used to large buildings with fancy rooms, but I had to admit, it was pretty damn comfortable sleeping in that huge bed with Jasican. Not to mention it made fucking him a hellava better knowing we had space almost as big as his old place to further explore ourselves. I had to admit also, even with me totally getting my ass beaten bloody and raped numerous times, it didn't prevent me from staying intimate with Jasican. Don't get me wrong, it's still stuck on the back of my mind, and I can't exactly shake it, but then again, I still have memories of getting half my bones crushed, then rebroken, about ten years ago. I truly was treating it as another ass kick than any type of violation, along with any other feelings rape generally brings, and I really hoped it stayed the case.

I found our clothes sitting where Seth and I left them at a tree situated between about halfway between the forest and the palace. Not exactly caring about anyone seeing me naked in the least, I shifted back to two legs and casual strode to the small pile of clothes. Seth shifted behind me a second later and sped walked back to his own clothes. Although my Imprint had me essentially gay for Jasican, and Jasican only, I couldn't help but look at Seth, and think that he's grown so much since the thirteen-year-old I've come to know so long ago when he joined the pack. I don't exactly see myself and how I look, then think "Damn, he's fucking fine," but Seth's got the soft facial features, a killer body with skin complexion similar to mine, and he's about as hung as I was. Whether he Imprints on a guy or girl, he's gonna make either or extremely happy. And thinking about that makes me think how much Jasican is physically attracted to me, and in pretty much every freaking aspect, and that made me extremely happy, especially with how things went with Reneesme. I'm not looking forward to repeating that whole fiasco again.

"So, I know I haven't exactly been prying into your love life," Seth broke my train of thought, "but I have to admit, I didn't see your new Imprint going the way it did after Reneesme cut it off."

"Oh?" I replied as I put my pants on. "How so?"

"Haha, well," his face was briefly covered up by his shirt, "obviously I didn't think you would go for a guy, but another vampire? A full vampire this time? I'm really not sure what the spirits have planned for that sort of thing for you."

"Jeez, Seth, don't quote that spirit shit to me," I said, annoyed. I guess I was a bit similar to Jasican in that fact, neither of us were spiritual at all (him more than me, he was full atheist). I know Dad tried to get me into that, but I was mostly concerned back then on how much sleep I was going to get the next night. "But yeah, I see what you mean. I mean, we were taught that Imprinting was supposed to help us fight better and match us with whom we're best meant to reproduce with--."

"Which I don't need to tell you everyone wanted to see the product of your fucking with Reneesme," Seth said with a smirk.

"You're such an asshole Seth!" I yelled as I playfully pushed him. With our clothes now on, we continued on to the palace. "And that was only once."

"All it takes is one."

"I think if I knocked her up I would have known by now," I gave Seth a look. "Nah, I'm not sure what her deal was. I mean, there wasn't even a thought in my mind that we would ever break up, especially with the Imprint, but she just grew more distant. Then I guess she got tired of me and when she broke it..."

"Yeah," was all Seth said and I knew exactly what he was thinking. My pain affected _everyone._ There wasn't a single shifter in the pack who was untouched my the mass emotional pain I was feeling at the time. The time everything started going to hell and my life would start to change. "So what's it like having a second Imprint? I mean, you're sorta making history here with Imprinting."

"Haha, tell me about it," I laughed back. "Honestly, it was almost as if Reneesme never happened. What's between me and Jasican, it's even harder to describe than before. I wasn't even sure how Imprinting could get any better than before, but I was definitely proven wrong. He is my life now, and while I was never gay before, it's different with him. It's like I always was, in a way."

"And what's the sex like?"

"Is that all you think about?"

"I'm a twenty-three year old virgin! All the chicks in La Push are either taken, too old, or my sister, and I haven't even Imprinted on anyone. Do you know how badly that sucks, dude?"

"I'm sure there are other's in your same boat as you, Seth," I tried to reassure him.

"It's not even that!" he shot back. "It's just too much of a sausage fest, Jake. It would be easier if I could just gay Imprint on someone, like you did, but I don't even have that."

"I'm sorry," was all I could say, as I placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Being the kid of the pack, he was often treated like one, and that combined with the lack of love life, I could tell he was suffering. Honestly, is there not a single person in this place who has shit going on through their life. I feel like it's cliche after cliche. "So, do you really want to know?"

"Know what?"

"The sex! Duh!"

"Oh, haha," Seth nervously laughed. "Yeah, you can tell me. I won't get creeped out, I promise."

"Good," I replied and I launched straight into the subject. By the time we reached the entrance hall, I had exhausted every explicit detail I can imagine, and while holding back my boner from thinking about me and Jasican, Seth just looked dumbfounded. I don't think he expected me to indulge him and I just laughed.

I caught a familiar scent as I entered the foyer and I found Jasican standing along the right side wall in front of another person. Another familiar scent revealed who he was talking to and immediately my mood changed. I walked over to them and Jasican caught my scent, turning towards me with a smile and saying, "Hey, Jake."

"Hey, Jace," I replied heartily. "Hi, mother."

Sarah, my mother, turned towards me and smiled. "You don't have to seem so down to see me, Jacob." She strode towards me and gave me a hug. I had to admit, still a bit awkward, but getting better.

"Nice to see you again...Mom." I tried to stay polite and cordial. "What are you guys up to?"

"Jasican and I were just catching up on a few things pertaining to what I've found out here and what my tribe's Elders have to say about it," she replied. "And how we might achieve some coexistence should this little coven reunite, but only after we get some things worked out." She shot Jasican a significant look.

Jasican seemed undaunted, "I'm sure, but until we have someone to lead, all of this is a moot point."

"Any ideas yet, babe?" I drew closer and snaked a hand around his waist.

He smiled at me and said, "None that I can think of, but I guess you should know now that Zoe and the others are wanted to elect someone as coven leader. They seemed determined to place me on the throne."

I just sighed. We touched upon the subject a few times, but Jasican would never want to entertain the idea. I know he had his reasons not to lead, but he's had the past few weeks to train his powers and his body to gain more control, and from what I was told, he's gained remarkable progress for a newborn. I, in all honesty, think he can do it, and being a former Alpha, I'm sure I could help him in whatever he would possibly do if he ever ascends to that position.

I decided to keep my mouth shut for the time being, knowing that adding my own two cents to what everyone else was adding would probably only frustrate him even more. "Well, when will that happen?"

"Anytime Zoe calls it, I guess," Jasican shrugged his shoulders. "She really seems to think I can rally everyone here to continue the coven. She's had someone of the other's talk to the vamps here and she has confidence it's gonna happen."

"What happens if you are elected?"

He sighed, "That's what Sarah and I have been talking about. I'll be honest, I would have absolutely no idea what to do or how to proceed, hence another reason why I wouldn't want to do this."

"Well, why not have Zoe and the other's help you out?"

"He seemed to think that doing so will make him a puppet leader," my mother replied. "While I'm not exactly condoning this whole ordeal--."

"--Which is vampire affairs, not shifter--."

"--I told him that having others to help a leader is not the same as a puppet leader. With you," she pointed at Jasican, "having no experience and almost no knowledge of your former leaders methods or plans, you essentially have to research and come up with your own method of leadership."

"And you haven't even heard the best part," Jasican quipped. "Tell them Sarah."

"I merely said that since he's essentially the only vampire keeping an open dialogue with myself, and a willingness to peacefully coexist with shifters, not to mention," she paused to look at me, "your Imprint with Jasican, I would find him a better leader to deal with than anyone else I could see here. I can tell while he's progressive, other vampires here may not share the same feelings."

"And she thinks that I can change everyone's attitudes," Jasican finished. "Listen, I am extremely flattered at the fact nearly everyone present here thinks I have the capacity here to lead--."

"So just do it," I blurted out, unable to hold it in anymore.

"Ugh," Jasican turned to me. "Not you too."

"Here, walk with me, Jace," I motioned for him to follow me as I moved towards the other end of the foyer. He reluctantly followed, knowing he was now going to hear my two cents. We strode down the hallway enough to at least keep anyone else out of our sight. "Listen, Jace, I've listen to a lot of what you had to say against you taking the reins of this coven, but stop making excuses and just give it a shot."

"But--."

"No buts, Jace! Listen, I don't think anyone else here is going to have as much support as you do, and if nobody comes up to take leadership, then there's gonna be no one to keep hope within any of these vampires, everyone is going to go their separate ways, and there is no one that's gonna be able to keep a force together strong enough to stand against the Volturi. You have the power, and you have people behind you, and I'll be right there to help you out, and I know Zoe and the other five will too."

"I just..." Jasican began. "I don't know, my mind keeps weighing in on all the negative, all the odds against us."

"And what do you think Godric had to face?" I shot back. "Listen, I know the little dude had big goals and had a lot of time to think about it, but now he's got at least this assembled before he died, and would you be willing to just let it die with him?"

"Of course not, I would be more than willing to continue helping fulfill his dream, should there be someone everyone trusts and is qualified to rein in nearly thirty-something vampires, and whatever more we find along the way. It's not just what we've got here, you and everyone else are asking me to accept a huge responsibility, and I'm just not sure I can do it."

"Would you ever want to become leader?"

"I've never trusted myself in a position of power," Jasican admitted.

"Is that the real reason?"

"Perhaps," Jasican lowered his head down. "You see how it is with Aro, he's been around for three thousand years and is the most powerful vampire known. And you know what he's done, he's fashioned himself as head of the whole fucking vampire world. What if I do destroy him? What happens then? What happens if I totally lose control, let my power consume me, and take it upon myself to become the next supreme dictator? Who then gets to challenge me?"

"I guess you just have to leave it up to faith."

"You know I won't."

"But I have faith in you," I pressed on. "Even if you don't. You have so many people willing to help you fulfill Godric's vision, and I know you want to see it through also."

"Yeah."

"These vampires need someone who is gonna rally them and assure them that we can fight against the everything that is preventing them from living a truly free life. Just look at the Cullens, what we all had to do when the Volturi tried to incur upon us for a reason as stupid as the birth of a vampire hybrid. They've been constantly harassed for their obedience and for the members of the family with abilities they want. Now you've felt that pain, now you understand what we now face. Are you just gonna deny them the chance to finally face them on our terms?"

"Again, I'm not leaving the coven, I want to help--."

"Then just do it!"

"Does anyone here give a fuck what I think?!" Jasican shouted.

"Of course we do, but at least I can see that it's your doubts in yourself that prevent you from accepting the crown."

"Which even you have to admit some of which are rightly justifiable," Jasican replied.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and my forehead upon his. "Look, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can finally get to move on with our lives and just be able to live. I know it looks bleak now, but I swear to you I'll do everything I can to help you. And as much as I hate to admit it, I'm even willing to bet my mother would try to get her tribe to at least work out a peace between us."

"How about this, now that you said that," Jasican said. "If I take this, and I go back with Sarah to her tribe, and convince their Elders to establish a peace with the coven, I'll take control, but that's my only condition!"

"Done!" I said happily, and a took Jasican by the hand and pulled him forward to follow me. "Wait, aren't we going to even wait for this?"

"Nope. Have to tell Zoe before you change your mind," I shouted. "She'll be thrilled."


	12. Chapter 12

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

A feeling of dread now fell to the pit of my stomach. I couldn't believe I got dragged into doing this. If vampires had the ability to vomit, I think I'd be swimming in a pool of my own right now, I felt so fucking delirious. Jacob had me by my hand, now reentering the foyer and heading towards Godric's office. Jacob knocked twice before entering and we found Zoe talking to Brett and Micah across the room. 

"Hey Zoe, great news!" Jacob gleefully shouted. "He said he'll do it!"

Zoe at first gave me a scornful look. "Are you sure about this, Jacob? Are you absolutely, one-hundred percent sure Jasican said he would lead us?"

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "Not so fast, guys. I'm not going to be leaping headfirst into this like an idiot. Before I can show that I really do have what it takes to lead this coven, I want to head to the Chimakun tribe and speak to the Elders, and see whether I have to diplomatic skill needed to even bring this coven together and continue this mission. If I can maintain a peace with them, or at least reenforce it, since there are no open hostilities between us and that brand of shifters," Sarah and Seth had now entered the room, "then I'll fully accept. Can you all at least give me that?"

"Agreed," Zoe said, barely able to contain her relief. "I'm going to assemble to coven in the foyer and nominate you for coven leader. You'll speak before them and we'll all vote to make it official."

"'Kay," was all I was able to say, my nerves now catching up to me. Micah and Brett followed suit out the door, Micah giving me a pat on the back and Brett just simply nodding his head towards me. I was left alone with Jacob, Sarah, and Seth. 

"How are you feeling babe?" Jacob said, placing his arm around my shoulders. 

"Not well," I replied. "If I was still human, I think I would be sick."

Jacob put his arms around me and held me tight. "You'll be fine," he said before kissing me on the forehead.

He released me and I turned to Sarah, feeling a bit better from Jacob. "What do you think, Sarah? You're an official representative of your tribe, do you think they'll go along with this?"

She closed her eyes and replied, "Honestly? Most of the Elders still harbor strong prejudice against vampires, no doubt about it. It's gonna take a lot to convince them to establish any kind of meaningful, peaceful exchange."

"Would you have any sway over them? To try and get them to see that we aren't a threat to either themselves or humans?"

"Ha, I could try and convey to them your desire to reach out to them," Sarah said, "but with everything you've shared with me and everything I've learned, the Elders may believe that your so-called revelation is enough of a threat to intervene. They may even see you as enough of a threat, with the extent of your...abilities. I will tell you this, and I'm hoping the hospitality we've share with each other will convince you this is not a threat: our tribe isn't some back-woods little settlement compared to the Quileutes in La Push. If the Chimakuns want to have this coven dead, they can. It's best not to piss them off."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said softly, her words adding the weight of more dread on my shoulders. "But I'm hoping very much that with what we have here, with as much commitment as this coven has put into following Godric before he died, we can convince the Elders otherwise, that we are determined to coexist with shifters as well as humans. But I will admit, I don't fancy myself as a politician, and I fear I'm gonna have to do a lot of talking just to get us started."

"I'll help you in any way I can," Sarah declared, "but no promises. Hopefully, as I said, your outreach to me will sway the Elders, and your relationship with my son and this coven's willingness to tolerate Jacob and your young friend here," she gestured at Seth, "might show them that you're set apart from the conventional vampires they're used to."

"Let's hope you're right," I replied. "If I can do this, then I'll deem myself competent enough to lead this coven, and then we can truly restart again. But, I'm going to need a lot of help still," I looked at all three shifters present in the room. "and if this is to be our start, let it start here, and hope that our endgame results in a world better for us all."

"Agreed," Sarah says. "but for now, I believe your companions are waiting for you outside. Do me a favor and don't disappoint them."

"Ugh," was all I said. Jacob reached out and I grasped his hand, squeezed once, and I walked out into the foyer and I found nearly the entire coven assembled. If I had any plan of words or anything I was gonna say, they all flew out of my head. I had to admit, I was feeling very human right now.

I spotted Zoe ushering the last of the vampires into the foyer and she sped towards me. "Alright, I think I have everyone here. I'll begin, then you'll accept my nomination for you, and you can input whatever you feel will help you win over anyone who's still doubting you."

I just nodded my head and followed Zoe to the crowd of vampires now presented in front of me. I instantly recognized the Cullens towards the front, and while not exactly standing apart from the rest, Micah, Lydia, Ty, Brett, and Bill were all standing next to each other. I tried to send out a smile, but I probably just look like my mouth is twitching. 

"If I could have your attention, please," Zoe said in a normal speaking voice, and the entire room fell silent. As I moved to stand beside her, she said, "Thank you all for being here. Now, as you are all aware of, when we lost Godric almost a month ago, we were without a leader. Having exposed Raymond as a traitor to our cause, and having been leaderless for this length of time, I'm grateful for those of you who have decided to wait this long in order to decide how, or even if this coven will continue to function. As I'm sure you're all aware, either myself, or some of the other members," she gestured at the other five vampires standing near her, "have actively been polling you on whether or not this coven should proceed, and if so, who would be the one to lead us. I'm pleased that most of you are willing to see Godric's vision to continue, and grateful that you are all willing to participate in an election held here today to determine who will head this coven and who will help us finally take down the Volturi once and for all. 

"Without further delay, I move to nominate Jasican Allicus, the final progeny of Godric, to lead this coven to fulfill our revelation." Barely a shift in movement from the others, but nearly all eyes were on my at the mention of my name, and if I could grow red with embarrassment, I would. I always hated being the center of attention. "For a few weeks, we have helped Jasican condition his body, and helped control his powers, in an attempt to overcome his newborn status quicker and resolve doubt that he is physically ill-capable. With the abilities he has, and providing effective leadership skills in utilizing the six of us," Zoe again gesture at our compatriots, "in his rescue mission for his mate, Jacob, I firmly believe he is the right choice to lead us. I will now allow him to say a few words before we move to vote," Zoe turned towards me and took a step back, giving me the floor.

All eyes were on me now, holy mother fucking shit. "Good morning," I greeted everyone. "What Zoe said is true, and I am willing to accept her nomination. Now, I know you all have doubts, and frankly, so do I." I tried to keep my eyes up, but my nerves was making it almost painful to do so. "As much as anyone who has come to know me will want to tell you that I'm the right person for the job, I am very much unproven. I won't disparage the faith my companions and my mate has in me, but the truth of the matter is that I've only been a vampire for a month, and my total existence amounts to twenty-five and a half years, and I'm certain very few people, if anyone in this room, can say to match the youth of my age. There are many of you who are potentially far older and wiser than I can imagine, and I do not wish to make an insult of that fact by sitting here thinking that I'm the right choice against any of you sitting before me." I managed to gain a bit more confidence as I spoke, and I managed to find the words to say.

"Now, before I spend the whole day beating myself up, which I can easily do, I'm going to tell you, that I will accept nomination only on the condition that I be made to prove myself, and for that to happen, I lay upon my condition that by voting for me, you accept my decision to make contact with the Chimakun shifter tribe and establish a relationship," I got at least some reaction from this, but none directly towards me. "I'm not sure what your beliefs or feelings are towards shifters, but I'm going to assume that at the very least, judging by your nonaggression with the current shifters here," I gestured to Jacob, Sarah, and Seth to my left, "that you at least have a tolerable attitude towards them. I will tell you now, as leader, any and all prejudice against shifters you may have will be forfeit from the moment I step up, onwards. I know, that from little I have been exposed to this world, that there has been a rather less-that-easy history between vampires and shifters. I'm aware that as self-proclaimed protectors of humans, shifters naturally see vampires as a threat, and as vampire naturally feed on humans, well, I'm sure I don't need to tell you how things have turned out.

"But my logic is this: if we, as a race, cannot even bring ourselves to set aside our differences with shifters, and show them that we have the initiative to change ourselves and become better beings, how do we expect to establish a relationship with humans? What better way to prove, not just in how we provide alternate sustenance for ourselves, that we are capable of coexisting with humans by proving we can coexist with the very species that have deemed themselves their protectors? It's not just a test of leadership for myself, but a test for the coven as a whole to show me and yourselves that we have progressed to the point that we are the very face of our future, of the shifter future, and of the human future. The Volturi may have fashioned themselves as leaders of the vampire world through fear and oppression, and even worse yet, to keep even the human race under their thumb as their continued source of food. They don't want peace with humans, only to hide in the shadows and coerce them into falling to their very demise. The shifters? From what I've learned, they care nothing for their existence, and I'm willing to bet after the Volturi's incursion almost ten years ago, they wouldn't shed a proverbial tear in killing any that happened to cross their path. 

"We've seen what lengths the Volturi will go to secure their place at the top of the world. They may attempt to show us their brand of 'mercy', but each and every one of us here has felt what that 'mercy' will bring us, should we fail. We've all felt the touch of death brush upon us, some more than others," I looked at the Cullen family, "and it further cements our resolve of what we must do. I admit, I'm not exactly the most willing, or even capable subject to fulfill this role, as I'm sure most of you are aware, but like me, you have all made an oath swearing your lives to Godric's cause, and as your leader, I will do everything I can to help make that happen." I took a step back and I nodded to Zoe, who seemed content with what I said. 

"Does anyone have anything they want to say before we vote?" Zoe asked.

The coven stayed silent for a moment before someone towards the middle of the group raised their hand. I was surprised to see it was Reneesme, "Yes?" I asked. 

"We've seen some of the extent of your powers," she began, "how is that gonna play out in you leading us?"

I was surprised at the civility of the question, given our first meeting was less than successful. "I would hope that should I have to use my more extreme abilities, it would be only in self defense, and if a danger presented itself again."

"What about your mental domination?" I heard someone to my right speak up. "If we go to find other vampires, and they refuse to join us--."

I cut him off immediately, "We are not the Volturi. I will not force vampires to join us if they will not do so on their own accord, and I will most certainly not turn them into mindless drones."

"But--."

"Listen! I'm well aware we are in a war, but I'm not prepared to use me as a nuclear option should things tip in their favor. That is why we are all here. We are slated to find vampires around the world who are willing to join us, and use our drive in numbers and skill to keep the Volturi at bay, and I will not stray from our original purpose."

Another hand raised, this time a female, "So you would have us pussyfoot around with the Volturi while they have the means to kill us all at will?"

"What would Godric have done?" I asked, and she simply didn't answer. "If you would want me to lead you to battle, dominate whomever refused to join us, and kill the rest to force our way to top spot, the get out and go join the Volturi," I pointed out towards the entrance hall. "While we like it or not, these ideals that Godric had, of the main purpose of this revelation, is to turn into the ultimate deterrence and lead the way to peace without spilling as much blood as we can, in addition to freeing ourselves to stand with humans instead of hiding from them. He told me that actually killing the Volturi was only an option if deemed necessary, and I plan to see that through. Despite what you've seen or heard me do, know that as a newborn, with then unknown potency of powers and the rage I had felt over Godric's death, had pushed me into a state that I would have never been able to contemplate should I have been in my right state of mind. Unfortunately, that may have ruined whatever shot we had, if it even existed, of adequately negotiating with the Volturi. I am, of course, forced to concede that if the time comes, and should the Volturi not stand down," I paused for a moment, "I may have to order everyone here, including myself, to our true deaths.

"Know this, that by me accepting nomination for you leader, and the coven's potential for ascending me their, still has significant risk. I can't guarantee victory, and there may be times I make terrible mistakes, but I'm sure Godric said the same thing, and knew that there was always a risk for failure. It was a blow to us all to see that turned into reality, but one can always keep the dream alive. Maybe all it takes is one person," I looked at Zoe, "to instill the seed of hope needed to further advance us. We have the drive, as evident by each of your presence here today. If we can take that and use Godric's sacrifice as a rallying call for the other vampires of the world, it may be just enough to turn the tide to our favor. As long as you are willing to give me drive and hope, I promise I will deliver the same."

A moment of silence passed through the room. Zoe then spoke up, "Before we vote, is there anyone else who wishes to nominate someone for the position of head of the coven?" Not a single person made so much as a noise. "Very well," she continued. "Those in favor of ascending Jasican Allicus to the position of our leader?" In an almost uniform fashion, every single vampire had raised their hand. I turned to see my companions with hands raised, smiling at me. To my left, Jacob had his hand up, and even Seth and Sarah had their hand raised. My mind was trying to comprehend the flurry of emotions going through my head right now. I was completely overwhelmed.

"I may not have to ask, but those who oppose of ascending Jasican Allicus to the position of our leader?" Zoe asked, and no hands were ever raised, even a few chuckles coming from all around. "I am then happy to proclaim, that on this day, Jasican Allicus is the new leader of Godric's coven." Jacob almost knocked me down as he embraced me as the coven, or I guess I can now say, _my_ coven, erupted in applause of my inauguration. While the full weight of this position will come to bear very soon, I took the time to enjoy the fact that my entire coven had full confidence in me to take this challenge, while I knew there are some with doubts. I looked at Sarah as Jacob was still holding on to me, and she simply nodded her head. I sincerely hope that her influence would be enough to at least begin dialogue with the Chimakuns. 

Jacob finally let go of me and said, "Congratulations, Jace!"

"Thanks, Jake," I replied. "But you do know this makes you First Lady," I chuckled, giving a stunned Jacob a kiss.


	13. Chapter 13

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

Night had fallen on the palace in the hours following my election. At least, for a time, the somber attitude had been replaced by uplifted spirits and hope. I, on the other hand, slowly felt the incoming creep of dread as the full weight of responsibility now came to bear upon me. I had no idea how I was going to proceed from here, but before anything, I must put my mind on tomorrow's task: meeting with the Chimakuns. 

Sarah had gone ahead shortly after the election back to Chimakun territory in order to inform her Elders of my impending arrival. She reaffirmed her promise to me, but again expressed no guarantees of success. I had no doubt in her abilities, but if these Elders are as old and stubborn as I think they are, we both may have out work cut out for us. I tried to think of what I would say to the Elders, but not knowing exactly how they would respond, I found the task more difficult than anticipated. 

Carlisle told me earlier that he would attempt to contact the Denali Coven from Alaska once again and have them come to the palace to join forces with us. Another test of my diplomatic skill perhaps, as I knew they had pledged support to Godric, not to me, so I had to use this as my first test in dealing with vampires. The Denali Coven were fortunately away from the battle a month ago, and had lost contact since. Carlisle thought that they may have gone into hiding as they had when the La Push shifters attacked their home. He thought it would be best to search for them rather than trying to reach them via electronic methods, so he requested that Edward be sent to find them, as he was one of the fastest vampires. I found it odd having the head of his own family ask me for permission to task one of his own on a mission, but seeing as I'm the leader of every vampire here, I guess it's something I have to get used to. 

I decided that I should see the other members of my coven (that's also gonna take a long time to get used to) and connect with them so I'm not commanding a group of unknowns and they don't think that I don't care to get to know them. I was walking outside at about one in the morning, Jacob had already fallen asleep and I thought, since obviously everyone else doesn't sleep, I could catch a few vampires still hanging around the palace. Before I had a chance to find one walking out the entrance hall, I found Seth walking around the garden, looking quite alone, and I figured he'd be asleep like Jacob also. I decided to talk to him first. 

"Hey, Seth," I called out. 

Seth jumped a little and turned around to see me. "Oh, hey, Jasican."

"What are you doing out so late? I thought you'd be sleeping also."

Seth gave me a look and said, "I'm not a kid anymore, I don't need a bedtime, dude."

I sighed and said, "That's not at all what I meant. Seeing as you and Jacob are the only two here that sleep, I naturally assumed you'd be asleep."

"Oh," was all he said. 

"I'm sorry, Seth. Jacob told me you were always coddled and never taken seriously because of your age. I don't think there is much I can say to make you feel better, but I do recognize you as an adult," I glanced up at his height, towering over me, but not as tall as Jacob, "and I promise you to treat you as such, so no more sensitivity to things I may say to you in the future." I gave him a smile, "Okay?"

He nodded and said, "Okay, I guess that helps a bit, but it's not really what's on my mind."

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"What?" Seth gave me a confused look. I just laughed and said, "Man, I guess I must have had really old school parents. I was asking you what was on your mind."

"Hmm," was all he said for a moment. "I guess I'm concerned about where I go from here. I've never been on my own before, and now that you've been made head of this coven, I'm not sure if I still have a future here, or elsewhere."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"Honestly, I want to find out what happened to my sister. I haven't exactly looked far, I've only tried a little while I was out hunting, but seeing as La Push is essentially off limits to me now. The truth is, I honestly don't know where she is. It's not like her to just stay away."

"What do you think happened?"

Seth was silent for a moment before replying, "I think Sam had something to do with it." He took a deep breath before continuing. "See, I'm sure Jacob already told you that shifters can communicate telepathically while in our wolf form. Distance is never an issue; when Jacob ran away from us about ten years ago, he was still ringing in loud and clear over three hundred miles away. It's just one of those things the spirits blessed us with, I guess." I had to make a strenuous effort not to snort and toll my eyes. 

Apparently, Seth was able to sense what I was thinking. "Well, I mean we were taught our beliefs by our Elders, but I've never gotten too far into the more dogmatic parts, just the supernatural aspect. I mean, c'mon, neither of us are normal humans," he gestured at me. 

"Ha ha, well thanks for believing I'm still human," I replied dryly. 

"Don't mention it. But do you see what I mean?"

"I'm sure there will be an explanation someday for how all of this came to be," I replied, "but until then, I'm not banking on a supernatural force having its hand in my life. I see where beliefs like that take people."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I really don't let it get to me."

"So, if you think Sam had something to do with your sister's disappearance, how are you going to go about getting him to talk?"

Seth's face grew contorted with anger, "I wouldn't hesitate grabbing a hold of his throat..."

"I asked how you were going to get him to talk, not how you're going to hurt him," I said calmly. "I'm sure either one of us would have no problem shedding his blood, not that I'm sure you'd want to."

"It wouldn't be the first time I had to stare death in the face standing up to him and the rest of the pack. When Reneesme was born a while back, at first we all thought that her birth killed Bella, and news travelled fast back to La Push. Sam and everyone else were ready to massacre the Cullens and the newborn, and that time, Leah and me had left the pack when Jacob had accepted his place as Alpha of the pack, and we were lucky that Jacob had Imprinted on Reneesme at the time. Our laws forbid any of us to bring harm to our pack's Imprintees, it's one of our most sacred laws. So that staved off Sam and the rest of the pack, and Bella ending up successfully turning into a vampire and staying alive was obviously also a big help, but at that time, before Jacob came out, I was ready to die standing against Sam."

Seth turned to me and continued, "I realized I never formally apologized for how I acted the first time I met you-"

"Don't," I held up a hand, "There is nothing to apologize for, and if you'll remember, you were a big asset in helping me find Jacob, and I still give you thanks for that."

"I guess. But at that time, I didn't know who to turn to. I didn't trust anyone other than Leah and Jacob, and I couldn't risk trying to stay with the Cullen's without bringing the whole pack to their doorstep. I felt alone, and I couldn't stand it."

"Well, when Jacob was capture by the Volturi and delivered to your pack, I thought I was well alone, seeing as I had watched my maker ripped apart and torched in front of my eyes. I had found I had unexpected allies hidden in the midst, and I would be more than willing to extend that courtesy to you should you want to go back to La Push to find your answers."

Seth looked at me in shock, "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. It's what Godric would have done if he were still alive, and you're one of Jacob's friends and companions, so why should I not offer you help?"

It took a moment for Seth to reply, "Thank you, Jasican, but I don't think I could ask that of you. You and everyone else here have a lot on their plate, and I couldn't ask to take Jacob away from you, I think it'd torment him too much being away from you."

"He's a big boy," I said with a smile, "If he's willing to help you, he doesn't need my permission to do so, I'm not his owner."

"But he's your Imprinter, and now you're coven master and he's naturally part of your coven, so that almost like double power over him."

"Now wait just a minute. That is not the way this thing's gonna work--."

"And besides," Seth interrupted me. "I'm not even a part of your coven."

"Would you like to be?" I shot in before he got in another word.

Seth stood there almost dumbfounded, and I could tell he wasn't expecting me to ask that. "You mean, I really can...?"

"Yeah, of course you can," I simply replied. "I mean, of course, if you have nothing better to do," I had to suppress a chuckle.

"Well, yeah, I mean, yeah, I'll join you. I'd be more than happy to team up with you and Jacob."

"Awesome," I replied, "You're now part of the coven."

He waited for a moment before saying, "Is there something we're supposed to do, like an initiation or something?"

"Mmm, no, I'm not gonna require that," I answered. "Just your eternal soul," I smiled and winked at him. 

He laughed and said, "So, what, you're the devil now?"

I replied, "Who ever said I wasn't? I haven't been proven yet that I'm not a bad guy."

"Man, Jacob's right," Seth said. "You really don't give yourself any credit."

"All I'm saying is that you should be cautious. You, like everyone else here, has faced a form of betrayal, whether it be actual or of an ideal, and it always had the potential to be damaging in the long run. Just remember that much is unknown, and being in this coven will prove to be extremely dangerous."

"I'm prepared," Seth said firmly. "I've spent the last ten years doing border patrol for a species we were taught to be dangerous to us and to humans. I'm ready to actually make a difference instead of pretending to feel like I have. And besides, what made shifters so goddamn better?"

"Now who's not giving who enough credit?" I said with a condescending smile.

Just then, I caught Zoe out the corner of my eye walking towards me and I turned to greet her, "Hey, Zoe."

"Jasican," she replied. "Hi, Seth."

"Hey," Seth replied sheepishly.

"Mind if we take a walk?" Zoe asked me.

"Umm, sure," I answered. "I'll catch up with you later, Seth. Get some rest."

"You're first order to me?" Seth said with a smile and left without an answer. Zoe gave me a puzzled look.

"I simply gave him what he was too afraid to ask," I responded to her look. "I could read into his face that he wanted to join us, or at least stay with Jacob."

"Ah, already a recruitment so early into your tenure," Zoe gave me her own smile.

"Now, don't give me that," I replied swiftly. "You and I both know that this doesn't count for anything towards me."

"You'll be fine."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why do you have so much faith in me?"

Zoe paused for a moment before replying, "I've known Godric for a long time. I was but only one of his many traveling companions when his idea for revelation first came to fruition. I've picked up a bit on how he touches people and what influence he has on their lives."

"When did you meet him?"

"About a hundred years ago," Zoe closed her eyes in thought. "I can remember it almost as though it were yesterday."

"Were you two ever close?"

"Our relationship was a bit more developed as we've had more time to interact and trust one another, but if your asking if it was close in a general intimate sense, no, we were not. Godric had once told me he stopped taking mates a long time ago, feeling he's lived long enough to have experienced it all and put other vampires and people before himself."

"What would you do for him?"

"As my 'ability' was beginning to develop, I naturally served as his translator in the times he needed it. But those were far and few in between, and we were separated for quite a number of years between now and then. It's only been the last thirty years that we've actively worked together, but he still maintained his solidarity."

"And what did you do before meeting Godric?"

We stopped for a moment when Zoe turned to me and said, "What ever other vampire does when it's alone and hungry. After my change, I interacted with no one, unless I absolutely had to."

I could tell this would be a sensitive subject for her, so I decided to tread carefully, "If you don't wish to talk about it..."

"No," she said, "it's just that it's still painful to remember. I know other's may not believe us, but we do harbor significant regret for how we were after we turn into a vampire, even if we can't control it. I am by far not the exception."

"How long ago were you turned?"

"About a hundred and fifty-one years ago," Zoe answered. "I was born twenty-eight years before in 1834, in Africa."

"In Africa?" I repeated. Then it dawned on me, "So that means--."

"Right," she cut me off. "I was born right in the time period fresh for human slavery, and as an infant, I just happened to be one of the lucky ones shipped with my family from Ghana to early United States."

"I'm sorry. It's still not something I can wrap my head around, but was it as harsh as they say it was?"

"I was 'fortunate' to have been sent to the Northern States, in Pennsylvania, so admittingly, it wasn't as bad as the Southern States, but there weren't too many people who wouldn't cast a blind eye towards us. Sometimes the other slaves who served with the same family as us would be out off the property running an errand, and they would often come back beaten, and a couple of times, they wouldn't come back at all."

I simply nodded my head, "And what did you do while you were still human?"

"When I reached a decent age, I was put to work, mostly to clean the house and provide maid service for our owners. I was separated from my family most of the time, so it wasn't as though I was ever close to them, and male and female slaves were keep separate almost all the time. I don't remember if they gave us more 'normal names', but I remember back then, I was called Zwethia Monreé. Later on in my life, I just settled for Zoe, it was much easier for myself and everyone else, it's kind of a mouthful."

"And then you were turned at twenty-eight?"

"...Yeah. It started as a typical morning, I was making tea downstairs while my mother tended to the couple upstairs, they had gotten very elderly at that point. Apparently, no one ever knew they had another son, because that day, he literally came barging through the door. He took one look around and bolted upstairs, speed and all. I had no time to catch up to him, I heard screams and I ran up the stairs. Apparently, their son had tried to pick a fight with a vampire and while his parents thought he was dead, he ended up turning into a vampire, and of course, back then, the word 'vampire' wasn't one you heard often, if at all. It was obvious he was quite insane at this point. There wasn't a single hope," Zoe close her eyes at the painful memory. "I woke up about three days later during the night to a bloodbath. Our owners, my family, and all the slaves on the property were all murdered, slashed apart, torn apart, drained. I was disoriented, I couldn't figure out what happened, I found blood all over me and the first coherent thought that ran through my head was that I did it. All it took was that thought to settle in and I freaked. I looked everywhere around the property for survivors, but it was all the same everywhere I went. I was the only one left alive and in shear desperation and emotion, I ran, far. I couldn't tell you where I ended up, only that I ended up far from civilization. 

"The rest before I met Godric was typical of any other vampire, wandering around, with no apparent direction, every once in a while, coming across a human or two who ended up being blood goblets to me. At first, I was horrified when I killed my first human, and I tried so many times not to feed of another again. I treated it more like an addiction than an actual need to survive. And it didn't matter how many times my victims would try and resist, I always overpowered them." Zoe had stopped looking at me long before she finished her story. I realized quickly that her story would not be the last tragic tale I would hear involving their vampire transformation. I just simply laid a hand on her shoulder to provide comfort. 

"It's alright, I've had many years to think about it, and I've come to terms with it, but it still haunts me to think about what happened, and what I've done in my lifetime. I know what it's like to be enslaved, and I shutter to think how the world would be should the Volturi take over and we really have no choice but to be their slaves. I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"Don't worry," I said, "I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

"I guess I never did answer your question, about why I have so much faith in you? Well, a part of it is because I don't have too many other things to lay hope in, but I guess the less rational reason is because you, being the last progeny of Godric, and this revelation, are the last things I have from him from nearly a lifetime of friendship. I figure, you've already shown great strides in leadership, but being directly connected to Godric, he may have passed on some of his qualities to you."

"So you're saying vampires can pass on traits of themselves to another during transformation?"

"It's only a theory," Zoe said, "and I'm sure Carlisle can provide better insight on vampire physiology, but no one has really broken the mystery of how we came to be, or how we even begin to gain our abilities. I guess you could call it another hope."

"Well, let's hope that it's enough to get us through tomorrow, or we'll be sorely diminished by the end of the day," I replied. "There won't be enough hope to go around."

"Looks like you need more comforting that I do," Zoe said.


	14. Chapter 14

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

**This chapter contains explicit sexual content for the beginning of the chapter.** _  
_

_Jacob's Point of View_

 

I was overcome by the most wonderful sensation. I felt like I was drifting in the air, but no real visual sense of where I was. At this moment, I didn't care, my body seemed to be experiencing several feelings at once and I was almost squirming with pleasure. I didn't know where I was or what I was doing, everything seemed to be happening so fast. Then I felt a something cool and soft surround my dick and I felt myself try to grab something. My mind was flying all over the place, I couldn't control myself, I was in such pure bliss. Before I knew it, I felt my body seize up and almost screamed as cum flew out of my cock, and after a moment of orgasm, I fell limp, my chest rising up and down and I struggled to catch my breath. It was at this moment I realized I had been asleep up until I came and I finally opened my eyes to see that dawn had broken. I looked down my naked body to see my redheaded angel crawl towards me with a smile on his face as he pressed his lips to mine and said, "Good morning, Jake."

"Hi there," I replied. "That's certainly a way to help get me up."

"Hmm, it's not like that was the first time I get to worship that thing while you're asleep."

"So that's why I wake up with a sore dick sometimes?"

Jasican laughed out loud and said, "Well, there are a few nights I get a bit bored just laying there, and often times, I really don't want to leave you all alone. Plus, seeing that both of us go to bed naked," I quickly glanced at his own naked form, seeing his own dick hard as a rock, "I thought I would help myself to this big, thick, hairy cock whenever I can," he grasped my own dick again to give it a playful rub.

"Damn, dude," I said with a smile. "I guess my dick isn't going to get much peace anymore anytime I'm around you."

"Aww, you flatter me," he replied, bringing his lips to mine again. "But I honestly thought I was being selfish feasting on you whenever I can."

"Haha, not like you don't already do that to me," I pointed a finger to my neck, perhaps the second most often place his lips meet my body. "But what do you do with that after you're done with me?" my finger now pointed to he raging hard-on.

"Oh, that," Jasican looked down his body. "Well, after I get to slobber all over your meat, I often let my body take care of the rest until you burst, and I finish myself off that way. Other times, I just go without."

"Ah, babe, you shouldn't do that to yourself," I said. "No way should you be left to deal with a massive boner after working hard to keep my nights as pleasurable as possible," and without further invitation, I rolled him over so he was under me and I pressed my lips to his as I laid my body on his. I started kissing him passionately, snaking my tongue into his mouth as he began sucking on it. My cock instantly became hard again and I started motioning my hips to rub my dick against his. I always loved how that felt, especially with both of us being uncut, and the skin was super soft.

After kissing Jasican for a bit, I started moving down his body, kissing and licking his cool skin. I never knew what it was about vampire skin, but it was always so smooth, enjoyable to both my touch and my tongue, and I could never get enough of it. Before I knew it, I was down between his legs, enjoying the tastiest part of his body. Sucking his cock, especially with the chill of his skin, was almost like sucking on a popsicle, but how it tasted was better than any popsicle I've ever had. I pulled his foreskin over the head as I met it with my lips and begun making out with it, shoving my tongue beneath the skin and moving it back and forth underneath the head as I sucked on the foreskin. I saw Jasican grasping the headboard as I was sucking him off, alternating from playing with the head, to deepthroating his whole dick (I had gotten really good at this lately).

I suddenly got a wild though amidst my horniness and without thinking, I blurted out, "I want you to fuck me."

Jasican's face had changed radically in a split second, changing to a serious, concerned look. He looked down at me to say, "Umm, are you sure about that?"

I flew back up to Jasican's face and kissed him, replying, "Yeah, let's do this. I'm ready, and I think I got you pretty slicked up." My hand rubbed his dick to find it was still quite wet with my saliva.

"I just want to make sure, because, you know, I don't want you to--."

"Please don't kill the moment for me, Jace. I want to know how it feels to have you inside me, and I want you to know too. Please, please fuck me Jasican," I was surprised that I was really this horny and willing to do this. I never really thought about it before.

"Okay, I'll do my best then, but please let me know at any time if you want to stop," Jasican said.

"Done. Fuck me."

Jasican rolled me back over and stood up on his knees to position myself in between my legs. I thought he was gonna go right in, but he lifted my legs to my chest and brought his face to my ass. Before I knew what was going on, I felt wet and soft up against my asshole and I threw my head back in shock. Never had I had something like that happen to me, and I kept moaning as Jasican was licking my ass. I vowed to myself that the next time I fucked Jasican, I'd eat him out too so we can be even. After about a few minutes of him essentially making out with my asshole, even probing my hole with his tongue, he relubbed his dick with his saliva and aimed his dick straight for my ass. I took a deep breath and tried to relax as much as possible, and within a moment, I felt Jasican's dick start to enter me.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised it would still hurt a bit, especially after Paul raping me, but it was no where near the intensity and I found I could handle the pain. I could tell Jasican was being very cautious with me, I know he was still concerned for me, no matter how many times I told him I was okay. I nodded my head to reassure him and tell him to keep going. He was about halfway in, and while he was going slow enough for me to get used to it, I was quickly becoming impatient. Soon, I felt his pubes brush against me before the rest of his body made contact and I knew he was all the way in. I was still stinging a bit, but it was quickly going away as my body was adjusting to his cock, and I felt my hole start to twitch in anticipation. Jasican brought his hands to my hips, and looked straight into my eyes, and with his cock filling my ass, I now felt the same as he did: complete. I had no idea at the intensity of feelings this would bring upon me, but I quickly let them overwhelm me and it was almost like being back in my dream.

Jasican then started pulling his dick out to about the halfway make before putting it back in. This sent a wave of pleasure throughout my body and I wanted more. After a few minutes, his speed picked up and Jasican was fucking me at a good pace now. He brought his body down to mine as he started making out with me yet again, and I wrapped my arms tight around him. I was lucky I had already came once before, because I probably would have already jizzed all over myself by now. I had no idea how far along Jasican was, but as the minutes passed, his motions kept getting more and more intense as he fucked me harder. After about ten minutes, I heard Jasican grunt loudly as he slammed his dick into me hard three times, and I could feel him injecting his cool cum inside of me. In his final strides, as he was cumming, my own dick erupted again and I was covered in my own jizz. He pulled out and started cleaning up my cum with his tongue and ate it all up before ending with one last kiss.

"How was that?" he asked.

"Far better than I expected," I replied. "It didn't hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would."

"Good, I'm really glad," Jasican said with relief. "I love you, Jacob."

"I love you too, Jasican."

Jasican collapsed on top of me and closed his eyes for a bit. He wouldn't admit it now, but I knew he loved fucking me, and we'll be doing this again. He then looked up at me and said, "Hey, do you know what day it is?"

"Umm..." I closed my eyes in thought, "Wednesday, maybe Thursday?"

Jasican brought his head down to lay on my abs, "How about the date?"

"Haha, I don't know, really. I guess We've really lost track of time since we got here."

"Well," Jasican started. "I was downstairs earlier and while walking around, I found a clock that said what the date was. To my surprise, I found that it's January 15th."

"Woah, you mean to tell me we totally missed the new year?"

"Yup," he said. "It's 2016 now, and you know what was supposed to happen yesterday?" Jasican's face grew a bit more stern now.

"Umm, no?" I said, growing a bit more concerned. I knew we had the election for him yesterday, but I...Oh crap, I just realized...

"It's your fucking birthday, Jake!" Jasican threw himself onto his back in an overdramatic way before sitting back up. "You're twenty-six now, how the hell could you have forgotten about your own birthday?"

"Well, I guess a month in total seclusion will do that to you," I replied.

"Ugh, now I feel like a shithead for not remembering myself, and I almost wanted to give you blue balls for not remembering yourself!"

"Hey, we were kinda busy, you know?! Trying to survive and plan our future for a bit, and everything?"

"Yeah, I know," Jasican said as he laid back down next to me. "I guess I just wanted on little bit of normalcy, especially since everything here seems to be revolving around me now and I feel bad that you might be sitting here left unattended."

"I here, and I'm with you, Jace," I replied. "That's all that matters to me, to help protect you and make you happy."

"I just don't want you to be a tool," Jasican closed his eyes, "especially now that I've been made coven leader."

"Don't worry about it," I soothed. "We're in this together, and we have a lot of work to do from here on out."

"Yeah," was all he said back.

"I was thinking," I said, "you need your own second-in-command. As this is primarily a vampire movement, I think you should make Zoe your Second."

"What?" he sat up in surprise. "I naturally wanted--."

"I know, but I'm a shifter, and your Imprinter, and it would make the rest of the coven think that you only put me in the place because of our relationship."

"Yeah, I guess. But you're still not escaping an executive spot. I don't want your only exclusivity to be fucking me."

I couldn't stop myself from laughing out loud that time. Jascian smiled and continued, "Maybe I can make you my Second on shifter relations, or make you Seth's leader or something, I don't know."

"Oh yeah, cause Seth's just begging to kiss my ass again after all these years," I replied. "Honestly, I wish he would try to be a little more independent, but I know he hasn't exactly been treated well in the past."

"I know he looks up to you, and besides, you're is only true connection here."

"He's still friends with the Cullens."

"But you know what I mean. He doesn't share minds with the Cullens, you're the only one he can do that with now."

"Yeah, I see what you mean babe," I brought myself up to wrap my arms around Jasican. "I'll do the best I can."

"Thanks, Jake."

The sun was now fully risen at that point and we both knew it was getting closer to our departure time. I was probably about as nervous as Jasican, but for different reasons. I would be meeting what would now be considered the other side of my family by going with Jasican to see the Chimakuns. I'm sure there weren't very many who would approve of my Imprinting on Jasican, but it is one of the shifters most sacred laws, and I'm just hoping this tribe has the same view on Imprinting as the Quileutes do, but even that's not saying much based on recent circumstances. I honestly didn't think anything too drastic would happen, but I can admit Jasican's probably gonna have a hard time getting through to the Elders of the Chimakuns, I can use my former Elders as proof of this. 

We started getting out of bed and Jasican went to put some clothes on. I just grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top, only putting on the shorts for now until after we get to the tribe (I would be traveling shifted, so the less clothes, the better). Jasican went with a black button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, dark blue jeans, and black shoes. "What ever happened to me being the only one to look like a model in other people's clothes?"

Jasican rolled his eyes at me and just said, "Shut up."

We left out room and headed down the tower towards the main foyer. Most of the vampires had already assembled, and I could easily make out Bella, Esme, and (I think his name was) Brett. Zoe emerged with Lydia and the Asian vampire, Ty, or something, from the entrance hall and joined the rest of the coven. I could tell by looking at Jasican's face that he was visibly nervous, but trying his best not to show it. I bet this is one of those times when he's grateful he doesn't have a beating heart, or else it probably would have been going at a hundred miles per hour right now. 

Zoe spotted Jasican and I and walked towards us. "Morning," she said briskly. "How're you feeling?"

"About as bad as yesterday," Jasican replied. "In all honesty, I didn't realize that yesterday was the easy part."

"You'll be fine," Zoe mused. "Have you decided who's accompanying you?"

"Yeah, I've got a general idea," Jasican said. "Is everyone here?"

"Almost, I see the last of the coven assembling now."

"Good," and Jasican moved forward a bit closer to the assembling crowd. The other Cullens had joined Bella and Esme, and last, but not least, Seth emerged from his room looking like he just woke up. "Can I have everyone's attention please?" Almost instantly, the coven fell silent.

"As you know, as condition of my election into the position as your coven leader, today, I will take a small group of the coven with me and make our way to the Chimakun tribe, where we will make contact and establish a peace. Our knowledge of them is very little, so I have no idea how our talks will go, or how long it will take. Sarah has assured me she will do all she can to make the process easier, so for the moment, that's the hope we'll have to ride on.

"As of last night, every person in this room is officially a member of this coven, including our friend here, Seth," I turned to see him grow red in embarrassment, "and as my first act, before leaving to fulfill our objective, I hereby ascend Zoe Monreé to be my Second-In-Command." Jasican turned towards her, waving her forward with a smile on his face. Zoe had a bashful smile on her face and mouthed the words "thank you" to Jasican as the coven erupted into applause. He then turned to her and said, "I'm going to have you stay here and keep an eye on things while I'm gone. Think you can do that?"

"No problem, Jasican," she replied.

"Carlisle," Jasican called out. "Can I trust you'll help Zoe settle in the Denali Coven, should they arrive before we return?"

"You can count on us, Jace," Carlisle said.

"Perfect. Without further ado, let's get started. Jacob and Seth will accompany me, Ty will use his tracking abilities to follow Sarah's path back to the tribe, and we'll bring along Brett and Lydia. Everyone else, you'll just have to hold out a bit longer, but hopefully, after this, we'll all get rolling soon," Jasican finished with another smile. "Alright, let's go."

"Be careful," Zoe said to us as we walked away. "We will," he shouted back. "I'll call you with any updates."

Jasican and I, Seth, Ty, Lydia, and Brett all walked put of the foyer into the entrance hall and out the palace. Seth and I feel back behind the group so that we could quickly take our clothes off and shift into our wolf forms. I motioned to Jasican to hop on my back, but he said, "Jacob, I'm not planning on making you my nobel steed everywhere I go. I'm not handicapped." I just exhaled and shook my head.

"Got Sarah's trail, Ty?" Jasican asked.

"Yup, her general direction is nearly north of here," he replied.

Without another word, each of us sped north at full speed. I knew Seth and I would have to slow ourselves a bit for Jace and the others, but it wasn't too bad. Where we were heading, the mountains were consistently rocky and dense with trees. I had to assume it would be sparsely populated just like La Push, but seeing at that was the only shifter location I knew of, I really didn't know what to expect from this tribe. Ty was ahead of us the whole time, he must be really good because I couldn't pick up a single trace of my mother's scent.

After about an hour of travel, Ty had slowed down and stopped, landing us in a place in the forest populated with massive trees with significant heights. It was about here I picked up familiar scents of shifters, but I had seen no houses, or structures of any kind, nor any people. I passed a mental message to Seth and we both shifted back to our human forms before putting our clothes on. We started walking forward at a normal human pace when Jasican asked Ty, "Is this where it's the strongest?"

"Yes," he replied, "but it's only as strong here as it is if you were here about a few hours ago. It's strange, almost as thought someone stopped in this area, then simply disappeared."

Jasican looked to the rest of us and said, " Do any of you pick up a scent or anything?"

We started sniffing the air. I had only caught an extremely faint scent from my mother. Other than that, nothing. I looked at the other and they all shook their heads, then I replied, "A tiny trace from my mother, but probably nothing Ty didn't already pick up."

"Well then," Jasican said, "I guess they must be better hidden than I thought. I kinda felt they wouldn't make this easy on us, but I suppose we should--."

Jasican was suddenly cut off by the sound of flapping wings, We looked around and saw four moderately sized birds flying down from above, and I knew instantly they were shifters. I glanced around to see that nobody had taken any defensive positions, but the air had grown tense in anticipation. The birds had landed around us and shifted into three human males and one female, all naked. A particularly tall male walked a few steps towards us and said, "Are you Jasican Allicus?"

Jasican replied, "I am."

"Sarah told us you would be coming, the Elders have been expecting you."


	15. Chapter 15

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

"I see," I said, "but you'll understand that you'll have to indulge me on where exactly the Elders are expecting us."

"Do your vampire eyes betray you?" the shifter in front of me said, glancing up as he had a slight smug look on his face. The others and I proceeded to look upwards. At first, it was unassuming, tree limbs and their greenery forming a ceiling around the forest. Then, I looked closer, past the tree limbs and their greenery, and my eyes were just barely able to pick up slight misplacements on how some of the limbs lay. As the trees grew higher, the limbs were supposed to grow thinner and shorter, but at a few places, some of the limbs were thicker. But from the ground floor, that was all I could see, but it was enough. 

"Very impressive," I commented. "I probably wouldn't have spotted it had you not pointed it out." I glanced around for any ladders or viable climbing points, and I found most of the trees for at least thirty feet up were smooth (for bark), and almost completely featureless. For anyone who wanted to reach the Chimakun's high settlement, they would have a difficult time indeed, even for a vampire, unless... 

"I'm assuming all the inhabitants here have to know how to fly in order to get up there?" I asked. 

"Yes," the shifter said, "to anyone unsuspecting, we can live invisibly, for those who threaten us, by the time they gain the ability to reach us, we will already be ready for them."

I turned to Brett and asked, "Is this gonna be a problem?"

I was glad to see he knew exactly what I meant, he simply smiled and raised a hand up. In less than a second, short, but thick limbs had jutted out of the massive trunks, rising up the length of the tree, and into the leaves above. I looked back at the shifters to see them in bewilderment. "It's nothing personal, but you're not the only one's holding secrets," I said with smugness.

"How...How did you do that?" the shifter had asked in shock.

Brett looked directly at him and replied, "How do shifters get their powers?"

"We-"

"That was rhetorical," Brett shot him down. "You don't know, only claim, and for me to explain how I got my abilities will only serve to misguide you. We'll leave it at that."

The lead shifter looked at him incredulously. I turned opposite of Brett, stood next to him, and said, "While I do agree with your sentiment, now is not the time to be calling their beliefs into question. We don't need to be labeled blasphemers before we even get started."

Brett nodded and replied, "Understood, Master."

I was taken aback for a split second before responding, "Don't call me that." I turned back around and pretended to clear my throat to mimic human gesture. "My apologies, shall we proceed?"

The shifter narrowed his eyes at me, "See you up top," he said, devoid of emotion. He and the other three Chimakuns shifted back into large birds and headed straight up into the trees. I turned to Jacob and said, "Think you can make the climb?"

"Of course," Jacob said with a smile, "but you refused me to be your 'noble steed', now I believe you have to do my job."

"Ass," I just shook my head and replied, "Hope on then, monkey man."

Jacob's warmth surrounded me within a moment, Brett offering Seth to climb aboard him. Myself and the remaining three leaped onto the first lower limbs and quickly ascended up the tree trunks. After a few seconds, we arrived about halfway up the trees and I dared another look above. The mismatched limbs I saw had now fully come to view as support beams for large platforms surrounding a large area of the trees around us, and confirming our assertion that the entire Chimakun village was settled here. After finishing our climb, Brett had retracted all the limbs we used to climb up the trees, and we all grasped the platformed, pulled ourselves up, and gazed at our surroundings.

What we saw was nothing short of amazing. While unsuspecting below, hidden within the dense shrubbery of the trees held a massively sophisticated settlement, spread at the least a few hundred yards in all directions. The platforms held a multitude of abodes, ranging in various sizes, and towards one end, a giant platform supported by at least four trees holding a rather large building, with everything naturally constructed with wood; my first instinct was that this building housed the Elders of the Chimakun tribe. Bridges crossed nearly all of the platforms in view, giving ease of access to whomever didn't have the ability to quickly traverse the settlement, which I had assumed were any children who lived here who hadn't fully developed their own shifter abilities. I had seen at least fifty people, ranging in all ages and activities, either conversing with one another, playing, or simply walking, but the majority of them were now silent and eyes upon us.

Luckily, I spotted Sarah emerging from a nearby hut and jogged towards me, speaking her native tongue to the others to calm them down, She slowed before me and said, "Well, it appears you found us, Jasican."

"Thanks to Ty, here."

"You should be grateful," she continued, walking away from us while we followed, "not many outsiders gain the privilege of visiting our little village, and those who manage to reach us, well, let's just say they never got to share their postcards."

"Lovely," I replied sarcastically, walking beside her. "So, do we get the attractions first, or straight to business?"

"Not quite either, yet," Sarah said. "I want you to meet someone first." I followed Sarah a short distance before stopping in front of an older man, looking no older than forty human years. He was surprisingly shorter for a male Chimakun shifter, only a few inches taller than Sarah (she was about 5' 9" herself), and his long black hair was streaked with a bit of grey. While he looked slightly under-middle aged, I could tell this man has lived a life longer than that of a normal human's, but showed no sight of faltering strength. His body still held a powerful look, and while he has calm face, the lines present showed he could turn fierce at any moment, and into a worthy adversary. I began to see what Sarah meant when she referenced the Chimakun's power. 

"Jasican," Sarah began, "this is Aennik, one of the Elders of out tribe, and also my father." I raised an eyebrow, but I felt Jacob stiffen a bit behind me, knowing full well he was seeing his maternal grandfather for the first time. I continued, nonetheless, "Pleasure to me you," I said, hand outreached, and very thankful that he returned the gesture.

"I've heard much about you from my daughter, Jasican," Aennik replied, "I was hoping to speak to you for a bit before we call the other Elders into session."

"Of course," I responded.

Aennik glanced at Jacob and said, "I know of you, Jacob, but I'm afraid our estrangement will have to hold for just a little while longer. I guarantee you mother and I will answer what we can when we have the time."

"Ohh, umm...yeah, for sure," Jacob said unsteadily, taken aback at the near instant recognition towards him. Aennik looked at Sarah and said, "Look after Jasican's companions until I return."

"Yes, father," she said, inclining her head.

Aennik started walking and I quickly followed suit to keep to his side. "I wanted to get to know you a little better before I present you to the Elders. While my daughter has told me much about you, and what you do, it serves better that I can actually hear, with full and clear meaning, of who and what you are. If you wish to indulge me, of course," he finished with a smile.

"Yes," I said promptly, "fire away."

He had asked me, at first, general questions, mostly pertaining to my past (which of course, the majority of it was human, for now), when I was born, what I did, where I lived. His questions after a time, grew more personal, how and when I was changed into a vampire, how I knew Jacob. I answered everything as accurately as I could, while still maintaining some degree of privacy, and I was glad the Aennik was able to sense which issues I wanted to keep personal, at least for the moment. Eventually, we arrived at the current events of the coven, as it stands.

"So, you've been a vampire for roughly a month, gained extraordinary abilities some may consider vastly dangerous, have next to no leadership experience, and yet, you were made head of a coven run by a two-thousand year old vampire who happens to be your maker?" Aennik said, with a raised eyebrow.

While I was shifted by the near-bluntness of his question, I answered, "In a nutshell, yes."

"Hmm, you sure seem to keep an old man surprised," he said with a slight smile.

"If I may, sir, how old are you?"

Aennik stopped briefly to look at me, "Noticed, didn't you? Must have been my eyes, or how some of the creases in my face ran a little too deep for someone frozen at my age."

"Just a bit more observant than I guess I'd like to give myself credit for," I replied with my own smile.

"At the moment, I have currently lived about three-hundred twenty-four years," Aennik said as we continued walking. "Unfortunately, it has not granted me as much as I would hope for. You'll rarely hear this from anyone, but I do hold a bit of envy with vampires, only in the sense that they are not afraid to break out of their confinements and are actually able to make the whole world their home. When it comes to shifters, we tend to stay close and ridged, and almost completely immobile. Our sense of secrecy, combined with vast amounts of loyalty and sense of protection over one another tends to create a bubble of sorts, one few have the opportunity to escape from. While I may be older and wiser, it's terribly limited, as is my scope of the world."

"I see," was all I dared to reply for the moment.

"These...abilities you have," he began, "they center around the mind, don't they?"

"Yes. My maker, Godric, speculated that in my human life, I was very influential to the people I knew, and thus, was a powerful enough trait to manifest itself into a gift, so to speak."

"And how have these gifts manifested themselves upon discovery?"

"They all seemed to have come to me as I was under distress, amplified by negative emotions: anger, sorrow, rage. For several weeks, I've struggled to gain control of these powers, and for the most part, I have them hammered down, but my most potent ability, my mental domination, it the one I fear will be the most resilient in in my mastery."

"I wouldn't be too hard on yourself, m'boy," Aennik said. "You're accepting a massive responsibility and if you try taking on too many things at once, you may explode."

"Who's to say I already hadn't before?" I said grimly. "I won't lie to you, there have been a number of individuals on the wrong side of my powers. Combine that with my vampire strength augmented by twenty-one hundred year old blood, you have someone who's is a ticking time-bomb."

"Hmph, you do know by stating these things, you're not exactly helping your case."

"I'm fully aware of that, but with what I'm trying to accomplish, I would prefer the truth to hiding and lying. I would think the shifter race would have enough of that for a few lifetimes."

Aennik gave off a booming laugh before replying, "Sarah was right, you are full of surprises...Or maybe we have held on to certain ideals for too long. Regardless, it remains to be seen what role we play with you and your coven in the future. But, of course, the question remains whether or not you stand to cast a favorable light on this 'revelation' of yours. I expect you'll have to explain your positions quite in detail in front of the whole council."

"And what about you?" I asked. "How much of an elaboration will you need to meet satisfaction?"

"I need to be certain that what you're proposing will ultimately benefit human lives without risking them," Aennik said. "You must understand, that as the guardians of humanity, we must ensure their safety, and having vampires live openly amongst them, amongst us, it's terribly risky."

"Let me ask you something, Elder," I began. "Imagine that you were a normal human, with a life of your own, living to the best of your ability, not a care in the world, when through no fault of your own, you find yourself in harm's way, in the way of a group of individuals with ill intent, and you had no way of stopping them from committing their crimes against you. Being left broken, teetering on the edge of death, someone comes and gives you a second chance at life. Unfortunately, that second chance means that you are forever separated from your loved ones, from yourself, from your life, and even your own humanity. How could you tell that person that there will never be a chance that their life will be nothing but feeding on people they once held close to them, forever in hiding? What would be your solution to their problem?"

Aennik closed his eyes for a moment before replying, "An interesting scenario, one we don't consider often, or even at all sometimes, depending on who you ask. But I have to assume that this scenario of yours is a bit more personal than you'll admit?"

"I'll freely admit, it is my own story," I confirmed, with closed eyes. "Only a month ago, and just three months ago when I had been first introduced into your world. I'm still amazed how fast I was thrust into something I had no understanding of."

"Would you go back to being human, if you had the chance?"

I looked the Elder straight in his eye and answered, "In a human heartbeat."

"I guess that's supposed to mean something," Aennik chuckled. "It's not often I meet a vampire who desires to be human again, but then again, I have to admit that my past experiences with vampires have been less than friendly."

"Circumstances?"

"As I said before, I, myself, and most of the others in our little tribe do not have the luxury of leaving here and exploring the world. As such, our only contact with vampires are the ones who decide to either cross into our territory, or if we are near enough to stop then from harming humans. Years before, we didn't used to be so secluded. Times have changed."

"From what I gather, it's the same for vampires," I said. "It may not be easy to hear, as a guardian of humanity, about the many humans vampires have killed. I can only speak for myself wholly, but others have conveyed to me that they never wished to harm humans, but had no choice, as for them in the past, they had no other way of sustenance, or even existence. For others, including myself, it was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Time allows us to better control myself, but not now, at least not with me. Until I learn."

"And what is your story behind that?" Aennik asked cautiously.

"The first day after I turned, Jacob had already known that I would be a danger to humans, so we decided to seclude ourselves. As he was resting, though, I felt constrained and needed to be out in the open. I had no idea of my abilities, of my feelings, and I happened upon my recent ex-boyfriend and someone else he was with. You can expect what happened next."

Aennik simply sighed, but gave me no words. I spoke up again, "If it makes you feel better, when I came to my senses, I tried to kill myself."

"My word, boy!" he exclaimed. "You've already shown me to be at least a little sensible, but then you throw this on me? Of course it doesn't make me feel better. What happened with you was an accident, and I'm deeply sorry for both you and the victims. But don't assume that I would find it better if you died for that crime. I am here with you now, aren't I?"

I just nodded my head, "Forgive me."

"You need not ask me forgiveness," Aennik replied. "While I'm still not one-hundred percent convinced, you have gained favor from me in this little exchange. I should inform you, though, that I would be considered one of the more progressive Elders on the council. You should consider this a warmup for what's to come."

"Ha! That's like giving me the good news before the overwhelming bad," I couldn't help myself from saying.

"Hmph, well you can be assured you'll have a few people at the least on your side to help you. It's the others you have to be concerned about." Just then, I heard a mild gong sound, and Aennik said, "Unfortunately, we have run out of time, and I can explain no further. We must make out way to the council chamber. It appears your time has come."


	16. Chapter 16

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

Aennik and I were now heading to the largest building in the center of the settlement. Over to my left, I could see Sarah bringing Jacob and the others towards us, and we met up right before we entered. Jacob and I squeezed hands once before we arrived in the main chamber. While there were only a few others here, I could rightly assume that we would be far from alone, as the entire village would probably be eavesdropping.

I tried to catch a glimpse of anyone else who could be an Elder, or rather, in the back of my mind, anyone I had to deal with in terms of convincing. I had a feeling that stubbornness would not be unfounded here, and much pride will be prevalent. While it comforted me that I already had one Elder willing to work with me even before we started, it was the feeling of unknown that adhered to me like a sticky coat, weighing me down with dread. 

We arrived in what I had to assume was the main council chamber. Five simple, but elegant wooden chairs formed a half-circle around a large firepit, currently unlit in the daytime. I spotted four other individuals: one other male and three women, already gathered and immersed in conversation. One of the women, who's hair was a bit grayer than the others, looked to be the more authoritative figure of the group, clearly displaying confidence and carried and aura of granted respect amongst the others, but it wasn't that which caught my eye. I honestly didn't know if I was starting to see all of the shifters as looking more and more the same, or if coincidence was simply playing tricks with me.

I found the latter theory would come to fruition as Aennik had called out a name, "Annika?" and the woman I had just been contemplating over had looked over at Aennik and walked over to him. While I could see her facial features clearly from the distance we were standing apart, seeing Aennik and Annika together allowed me to accurately surmise that they were related. 

"Jasican," Aennik began, "This is my twin sister, Annika. She is the Chieftain of our tribe."

"Pleasure," I said, extending my hand. 

"The pleasure is all mine, Jasican Allicus," Annika said, taking my hand. "We've heard a lot about you from my niece, and deeply anxious to see what you'll bring before us, as are the others," she added with a hint of hesitation. 

"By which she means she's quite strict," Aennik added, "but fair. The others will be hard pressed to pick you apart and discover what you really are." He turned to me and said, "Be prepared for some tough questions."

I merely nodded my head as Aennik and Annika walked away towards the other Elders. The horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach had returned, with greater intensity this time, and I had to suppress a groan. Jacob picked it up immediately and came over to wrap his arms around me. He whispered, "You'll be fine. You have all of us here to help you."

"I sure as hell hope so, Jake," I moaned, "cause if I was still human, I probably would have passed out by now." I took a very human breath and tried to compose myself. 

Then a heard two dings of a bell and the room fell silent. I broke my embrace with Jacob and looked to my other companions. Lydia simply nodded, Brett and Seth both flashed me smiles, and Ty gave me a thumbs up. I tried to exhume as much confidence from myself as I possibly could, be found nearly none to spare. I looked back to Annika and the Elders as the former stood up to speak. 

"Normally, we would start off the meeting with our blessing," Annika began, "however, the circumstances of this assembly today will excuse the need for one. Now, as everyone in this room is aware, we have a few visitors today whom are vampires. At the request of the leadership of the vampires, I am willing to open this chamber for him to speak his case before the council, along with any of his companions, of the nature of their visit and their future intentions."

Annika then looked at me and nodded. Showtime, I guess. I walked forward and stood in the center of the room, just in front of the massive firepit, with my hands placed behind my back and looking as attentive as possible. 

"For the council, please tell us your name, vampire," Annika said. 

I looked at her and replied, "Jasican Allicus."

"And the nature of your visit here?"

"As the newly elected leader of my late maker's coven, it is my intention, in an effort to prove my worth as a leader, and friend to shifters alike, to establish a positive and working relationship between my coven, it's future vampires, and the Chimakun tribe, with all it's members."

Predictably, a look of skepticism crossed the faces of at least half the council. It's seemed only Aennik was the only one expressionless. Annika continued, "Tell me, Jasican, why is it that you wish to seek to align yourself with us?"

"I believe that such an alliance would seek to benefit both our species," I began. "As you may or may not be aware of, there is a large coven of vampires, the Volturi, that has claimed dominion and declared de facto law over every vampire in the world. They are the largest, oldest coven in the world, their leader at the throne for three thousand years. They have threatened anyone who even dared make insult at their power and wipe out those who seek to undermine them. "

I could make out a large amount of murmuring outside, knowing full well that the majority of the tribe was just beyond the wooden walls. Likewise, some of the Elders had turned to one another, whispering something to each other, but all voices were converging and the Elders had stopped whispering to each other before I could catch on. 

Annika waved her hand as she continued, "We have heard of this Volturi and have been made aware of your claims of their latest incursion. However, some on this council are not wholly convinced that such an incursion has occurred recently, as I'm sure you're aware that one of our daughters reported to us," she nodded her head at Sarah. "Am I to assume that all who bear with you today can claim witness to this event?"

"Just the vampires, Chieftain," I replied. "The shifters here with me, Jacob and Seth, we're both removed during the events that occurred last month. If it is proof you need, look no further than where we fought. If any of you have been able to kill a vampire, you will know that their burn areas will remain for long," I suppressed a grimace as the memories had surfaced of my tour back to where many vampires had been killed during the last incursion about a week after. 

I could make out at least one Elder giving an odd look, and I could quickly surmise that she had previously killed vampires and knew what burn sites would look like. I chose to ignore as Annika continued speaking. "You had mentioned that you recently gained control of your 'late' maker's coven. How did his death come to pass?"

I closed my eyes briefly before answering, "During the last said incursion, my maker, Godric, had been taken by the Volturi as he was attempting to protect me. While he tried to release me from my captors, he was ultimately ordered execution by Aro, the leader of the Volturi, and was killed right before our eyes. Six others from my coven had witnessed this," I could feel the emotions hitting me again, but I did my best to suppress them.

"And tell me, how did you escape?"

I had been waiting for this part: the opportunity for the Elders to see how dangerous I really was. "While I had been a vampire for two days at that point, I had already gained superior strength from my maker, owing to his age as a 2100 year old vampire. Combined with my augmented strength and certain...abilities I had gained from the course of those two days, I was able to turn the tide and cause the Volturi to flee."

"I find that hard to believe," I heard another Elder speak out. She stood up and looked at Annika, to which she nodded and said, "Elder Lorelei."

"Mr. Allicus," Lorelei began, "these are rather outrageous claims you make. I assume you present evidence to support your story."

"While I cannot further enhance the credibility of my story with anything else, save for the testimony of my covenmates, I am fully capable of displaying the gifts that I have come to possess as have grown as a vampire."

"And what are these gifts you speak of?" she asked.

"I possess three," I responded. "My first discovered was the ability to transmit my thoughts to another person telepathically. The second, the ability to completely envelop a person's mind and dominate it," I could once again hear muffled conversation outside the wooden walls, "and my third is a form of tactile telepathy, meaning that by touch, I am able to access a person's memories, and between the person and myself, able to project the conversation taking place with 100% vocal accuracy."

"Hmm," she said calmly. "Powerful abilities you claim, but how are we to believe that you possess these 'gifts'? Perhaps a demonstration is in order."

"He doesn't need to show any of his gifts," Jacob decided to chime in, walking next to me. "Sorry, babe," he whispered before continuing. "While I was not directly present for the Volturi's last incursion, let it be known that Seth and I were direct participates in stopping the Volturi's first incursion further west, near the town of Forks, almost ten years ago. I can relay to you directly what we had to do, as in myself, my pack; and the native coven present at the time, the Cullen family; and their own allies. Far before Jasican had even been aware of my existence, the existence of the supernatural world as a whole, we were close to facing a fight to the death over a misunderstanding."

"And just who might you be?" Lorelei had shot at Jacob before he was able to say anything else.

"Jacob Black," he said boldly. While Annika and Aennik only gave quick glances between Jacob and Sarah, the other Elders were a little more taken aback, something that Jacob took notice of. "I'm surprised that the Elders would be shocked that the son of Sarah Black would be standing before you today, given the circumstances."

"Unexpected," Lorelei simply said. "And as someone who has been in another tribe before, I would have expected you to observe a bit more respect in the halls of the Elders."

"Forgive me, Elder, but after the events involving myself and the Quileute Tribe Elders, and their pack, you'll find my respect for Elders a little short these days," Jacob fired back. "Nevertheless, I'm committed to helping Jasican in his quest, so I'll do my best to be a bit more...civil," he said the last word with a hint of distain.

There was a brief, but awkward silence throughout the hall before Annika stood up again, causing Lorelei to sit down. "Regardless, of who has witnessed what, we need to be thoroughly convinced that the threat from the Volturi is credible enough to allow us to intervene, if such action is needed. The concern at the moment is while your intentions are noble, we need to be certain that your coven, yourself, and their actions will not pose a threat to the humans, especially with these gifts you claim to possess."

"I have been hard at work refining my skill and fortitude to allow myself better control over my actions and impulses," I began. "My maker, Godric, before he died, instructed the members of his coven that feeding on humans was forbidden and our method of sustenance was strictly through animals. We..."

"And you think feeding off animals will make you less dangerous from humans?" I was interrupted by a voice. I turned around to see a girl, perhaps no more than eighteen in age, and while similar in appearance to the rest of her tribe, she held an aura of wilderness among herself. Her stance and walk suggested that she thought herself above everyone else, and I could tell this wouldn't be good. 

"Hello, again, mother," the girl said in a falsely sweet tone, strolling past me without regard. "How nice of you to invite me to yet another meeting." 

Annika looked absolutely livid and said with a restrained voice, "Edemeé, I thought I made it clear to you that unless explicitly invited, these meetings are for Elders only."

"And I thought I told you that if these matters involve the safety of tribe, I'm perfectly entitled to participate just as much as you do," Edemeé shot back. "Especially if this vampire claims he's as powerful as he says he is."

As Annika and Edemeé continued to bicker back and forth, I turned around to face Sarah and whispered to her, "Who is she?"

Sarah was wearing a particularly annoyed face when she answered, "She's the tribe's Alpha."

It took a second to register in my head before I said, "I thought you said you guys had no need for an Alpha."

"We don't like to talk about it," Sarah shook her head. "Needless to say, she's got a bit of an inflated, underserved ego, and yet is highly unproven. Plus being the Chieftain's daughter doesn't help."

"I see," was all I said as I turned back around to face the Elders. Aennik was simply shaking his head while Lorelei and the other two Elders just simply watched Annika and Edemeé. It was clear this was far from the first time.

"We'll inform you of anything I believe you need to know, but in the meantime, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," Annika simply said.

"Are you really..."

"As your mother and Chieftain, leave this hall at once!" Annika's voice rose high.

Edemeé seemed unfazed, but she turned around and walked away from her mother. As she passed me, she gave me a loathing look, and walked out the door. I looked back at Annika, her face a bit more relaxed, and she said to me, "That happens more times than I'd care to admit, but let's continue."

I nodded my head and returned to my spot in front of the Elders, however, I happened to let my mind wander for a brief moment. I sensed a presence coming in this direction, and wicked fast. In half a second, back towards the door, a large, beige colored wolf burst through and leaped over my group, my reflexes kicking in fast. I dodged the wolf and before it could come about towards me, I stretched out a hand and instantly took it's mind as my own. 

I made the wolf stand still for a moment as everyone regained themselves from the unexpected surprise and before I released the wolf's mind, I walked it around to face the Elders. I lowered my hand and saw the wolf's eyes revert back from black to their normal color, and the wolf had an instant look of confusion. A moment later, it looked like the wolf realized it had been stopped and shifted instantly to a very tempered, but satisfied looking Edemeé.

She looked at her mother and said, "Well, what more do you need to show that this freak," she pointed directly at me, "is dangerous?"

Annika looked as though she was going to explode, "Edemeé, I have tried to be patient with you, but you have gone too far this time! If you do not behave yourself and act like a dignified member of this tribe and pack, I will banish you from these lands!"

"But..."

"Get out of my sight!" Annika shouted. Edemeé looked mortified and she quickly left the hall without another word. Realizing I had used my strongest power against the daughter of the Chieftain, I was about to say any kind of apology that would help me in this mess. However, Annika sighed and sat back down in her chair before saying, "Forgive me for my daughter, Jasican. She still has much to learn, and I hope this doesn't reflect on ourselves as a tribe."

The other three Elders looked back at their Chieftain in massive confusion, probably wondering why it should be Annika that is delivering an apology. I thought to keep the hospitality going, and I replied, "As long as you don't think my actions reflect upon my coven, I think I can manage that."

"One would say that you defused the situation, rather than exacerbate it," Aennik had said with a smile.

Annika sighed again and said, "Perhaps a recess is in order. It would appear your presence had caused more commotion than I realized. When we're ready, I'll call for us to reconvene. Elders Oris and Bastila will have an opportunity to speak next meeting," she indicated to the remaining male and female Elder that did not speak. "This meeting is adjourned," and she once again sounded her bell twice.

Elders Lorelei, Oris, and Bastila had all stood up and left without a word to either myself or Annika. I looked back to Jacob to see him smiling at me, but before I approached him, I thought to speak more to Aennik or Annika. Before I had the opportunity, Annika approached me and said, "I would kindly ask that you not speak to any of the Elders until I call the next meeting. I would not want anyone else to think that you are using your powers to influence us, and I don't want to give Edemeé another reason to distrust you."

"I understand," I replied.

"You, and your companions, are welcome to stay. It may take a while to convince the other Elders to return soon," and Annika left with Aennik following behind, but not without a smile towards us. I turned to Sarah and asked, "What did she mean by that?"

"Annika has known the Elders for a number of decades," she replied. "So much so that she can pick up what they are feeling without so much as a word from them. It's almost like telepathy in human form, but not a full ability, more like an empath. It would appear your show had shaken them up, a rarity these days."

"Fascinating," I replied dryly as I rejoined Jacob and walked out the door.


	17. Chapter 17

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

Hours had passed and we didn't her a single word or sign from the Elders. Dusk had settled at this point, and outside the occasional visit from Sarah, the group and I were alone in a hut provided to us. It was clear that while only a few had seen the stunt that Edemeé had pulled, and the subsequent result, the news of it spread like wildfire, and it became quite clear that while the tribe already held a distrust for us, they were now fearful, at least of me.

I had displayed exactly what I was trying to prevent when using my most potent power. That alone served enough reason to adjourn the council and create this long recess until the next meeting, if there was gonna be one. Sarah had told me that Annika and the rest of the Elders had stowed themselves away to discuss what had happened and whether or not I should be given another chance to speak. My cynicism, however, reached it's high point and I expressed my doubt that I would even get through to the others. To put it short, I told her, I felt like I royally fucked up.

"Listen," she said, "if you had failed as bad as you think you did, you'd have the entire tribe shredding you to pieces right now. You may have scared Bastila and Oris, and put more stubborn resolve in Lorelei, but think of if you attacked Edemeé and either injured or killed her. Then there would have been a problem."

"But I did attack her, I took over her mind," I retorted. "They could all be thinking that I still have her under my control, or that you and any of the rest of you," I waved to Jacob and the others, "are all under my control. They aren't even acknowledging the Volturi, only me, and even if I am granted another audience, what's to say that they're not going to suspect that I would use that same power to take over the entire council?"

"I hate to be a pessimist," Jacob began, "but I have to agree with Jasican. Plus, if you haven't already divulged the details of my Imprint to the council, they will surely think I'm under his control. And let's not get started on him feeding off of me."

"You're Imprint is beside the point, Jacob," Sarah replied scornfully. "Listen, you have gotten this far, Jasican, and while you have allies here, you still keep a decent chance of at least resuming dialogue with the council. My father has always been open-minded, and Annika not too far behind, and it's because of that they were granted leadership against the more hardline crowd."

"And it won't be suspected that because of your familial ties, it will not create reasonable doubt that your input has influenced your leadership?" I asked. "There are too many factors here working against us, and unless we can deal with them patiently, one at a time, I could still see this turning catastrophic."

Sarah merely raised her eyebrows and walked towards the door, "I'll keep my ears out for any news. With luck, we may have another meeting later in the night," and she walked out. I turned around to find Jacob already close to me, and I leaned against him. I stood there for a while, taking in his embrace while the others stood quietly. I then said, "I need to be alone for a bit, see some stars or something to get my mind in a better state."

"Of course," Jacob said with a smile, kissing me softly on my lips. "Don't go too far."

"I don't think I have a choice," I replied with a dry smile. I then went out the door, immediately proceeding around the back of the hut in order to avoid having the other tribemates see or here me. I found the action futile as I heard several quick movements coming from behind me to avoid either my presence or my sight. These people really were afraid of me, and if I really do have two of the five Elders afraid of me, could Sarah really be overestimating the resolve of her tribe?

I arrived directly behind the hut, which was eclipsing all the torches now lit up for the night. I looked up to see what stars had already begun to appear behind the light. I could easily make out Venus and the Orion constellation, but as my vampire eyes took in the darkness of the sky, more clearly than the common telescope, I noticed I could see a whole lot more of the celestial sky, making out the large band across the sky that made up the galaxy, and the surrounding gases of nebulae and protostars, perhaps already changed as the light from interstellar phenomenon had yet to reach us. A fleeting thought passed my mind, wondering if I would ever be able to see those changes in the sky, hundreds, or maybe thousands of years from now, if I'm still alive then, of course.

Before I could contemplate further, I heard a sharp wind blow to my left and I turned to see Lydia materialize next to me. "You don't have to talk," she said. "I just couldn't stand to be in that little wooden cage for any longer than I had to."

"Claustrophobic?" I asked.

Lydia chucked, "Don't be silly, vampires do not have claustrophobia. We're just meant to be out in the open more, as environmental progress no longer affects us."

"Speak for yourself," I retorted. "I actually still find myself wishing that I could experience cold nights where I can curl up by the fire and fall asleep."

"You would definitely not be the only one," Lydia said with a hint of distain.

We were silent for a moment before I said, "You know, I'm surprised you didn't say anything earlier, during the council or just before, with Sarah."

"To the former, I felt you were handling it well enough, despite the short time we had," Lydia said. "And to the latter, well, I found your analysis of the situation to be quite on par with what I was feeling, so I didn't think what I would have to say would contribute any more to the discussion."

"I still would appreciate it," I replied. "It would make me feel better to know I have people with minds to speak rather than those who are content with just following me around and becoming yes-men. And besides, I find that your constant cynicism is actually a rare gift these days. There are not that many people that I've seen that are able, or even willing to see the downside of everything."

"I would have though the contrary," Lydia said in mild surprise.

"It's something I wish I had a bit more integrated in me," I responded. "I had to tone it down a lot a while back, as I figured that was the reason I could never connect with guys. But there were always things they would do," I looked down towards the forest floor, "and things I would heard going on around me, far away in the world, things that I wouldn't even see, and it would be enough to set me off. Needless to say, it was a massive turnoff."

"And what about now?"

I almost laughed, "It seems to be coming back with a vengeance. I'm surprised Jacob has put up with it as long as he has, but I guess being Imprinted to me helps keep him attached."

"Well," Lydia began, "have you considered that, despite his Imprint, that maybe he prefers you to have an overly analytical view of the world, as opposed to someone who just lives blind in the dark, unable or unwilling to see anything?"

"I guess that's a point," I replied, "but I know he gets annoyed everyone I'm hard on myself, which is never-ending, I may add."

"Which is preferable to a self-centered bitch with enhanced vanity thinking that everyone has to worship the very ground they walk on."

I looked at Lydia for a moment before saying, "You really are not afraid to speak your mind. I don't find many people who present themselves as such without themselves being a self-centered bitch with enhanced vanity."

"Believe me, the vanity was a trait that was well developed when I was still human," Lydia said. "However, after I was turned, and I experienced the view from the other side, I learned fast that keeping myself self-absorbed would be the quickest trip to self-destruction. I learned that no matter who you are, or what species you are, you will always have flaws, but the ones who rose above others are the ones who wear those flaws as a badge of honor, not burying them."

I nodded, "It seems that all vampires have their views turned around after they've been changed. I know that, despite the fact that while I was a human, I didn't have a high opinion of myself, mostly physically. But even after the change, after seeing how I now have something I've dreamed of for so long, something I could be vain about, I realized it meant absolutely nothing to me. I never gave my appearance a second thought after knowing the price it came with it. I had thought that I would see myself in a better light, but I've always had a consistently low opinion of myself, no matter what I did."

"I said wearing flaws, not your self-pity" Lydia retorted, "there is a difference. You can easily adjust your self-pity when you disillusion yourself to what is really rotting away at your core, and cut it out. Flaws are what we normally can't change, something that you adapt and learn to live with whether it's a physical or mental flaw, and not every flaw can be permanent. You just have to remember the lessons each one has taught you and keep them close. Otherwise, you may as well be living in fantasy, cause you have just detached yourself from reality. And that's the code I live by, not necessarily seeing the bad in everything, but knowing where to find the flaws, and see where those lessons either take myself or the person who possesses them. That's how I can tell who or what is really grounded in reality."

I looked at her in surprise, "Wow, that's probably the most amount of insight I've heard from someone in a long time. You really do have a good head on your shoulders, Lydia." I paused for a moment before asking, "Do you believe that if everyone held this view, that we would find integrating with humans and shifters an easier time?"

"Possibly, but I'd rather not waste time considering possibilities that are currently far out of reach," she replied. "Just remember that, keep yourself rooted in what you can reach. Overextending yourself if the first fatal step on can take to losing everything. You have only just begun your journey as our coven master, and you still have much to learn, but I can see that you don't lack as much insight as you think you do. Just keep the lessons within you, and know them well. They will help you succeed."

I merely nodded my head as I took in her words. While it should have hit me as common sense, I need to keep in mind that many of the individual's around me have live tremendously long lives since they've been turned, and that their story, their insight, will help guide me in my new life and my new role. She was right, I do have much to learn. 

I dared a question, "If I may ask, what was it that happened to make you realize all this?"

"It was only after I was turned did I realize the mistake I had made," Lydia began, "and moved to encompass an action and guilt that will haunt me for my entire existence. While I preach about cutting out the rot of self-pity, there is still some within myself that will take time to remove. As I was a sheltered girl dotted upon by my father, I had only known as much of the world as my father would show me. I had yearned for the time where I could explore on my own and see what he had been afraid to show me. All it took was one time I dared to defy him that I learned that he was right. And when I returned, his lesson, of the world he tried to protect me from, had cost him his life. The rest is history," she hastily ended. "Needless to say, while there are variations of a vampire's transformation story, they all essentially run the same way. You should be fortunate that you only had a couple of human victims. With the exception of a select few, not a one is exempt from having human blood literally on their hands, and some happen to be too close to the ones that love when the happen to take their first breath."

I shuttered, remembering about Godric's story, of how he massacred his entire family and town after he was turned, and remembering that I could actually hear the screams he had heard during the whole ordeal. To know that there are those who are unable to control their new urges and kill the ones they held dearest to them, it truly held fear within me. 

I was about to say something before Lydia said, "If the next words that come out of your mouth have to do with an apology, save it. I do not need my self-pity spread amongst others. I only share so that you may gain my lesson, and learn from it. I guess one old belief I still hold is that time does heal all wounds. And while I strive to have mine healed, I hope I never forget. It has taken me a long time for my mind to reach this point, and I would hope that I would not be a standing hypocrite."

"I don't believe you are," I replied. "You hold something that few would even dream of possessing. It may not have come to you in a way you desired, but at least you hold the shape you want for yourself. There needs to be more people like you, I believe. Perhaps then we would realize that we should stop focusing on what we can give ourselves and focus on what we can give outwardly, to others. You may appear caustic, blunt, and condescending, but to the trained ear, you can deliver a real gift."

Lydia simply nodded her head and said, "Thank you."

I looked back up at the sky and muttered, "What tales that time will hold for me?" Before either of us had a chance to say anything else, I heard a noise coming from my pocket and a pulled out my cell phone. I looked at it and saw Zoe's name on it before I answered. 

I tapped to pick up the call and said, "Hey, Zoe."

"Hey, Jasican," she said back. "How're things going over there?"

"Well, we're not dead yet, that's a plus," I replied humorously. 

Zoe chuckled back, "See, making a fine leader already."

I had to force myself not to facepalm, "Jeez, Zoe, throw me a freaking bone."

"Hey, just trying to lighten the mood here," she replied. "Sounds like you're still down."

"Well, as you can imagine, we're not receiving the warmest of welcomes here," I said dismally. "In short, their Alpha doesn't like me very much. But I think I've made at least one ally here, so as long as the village doesn't think I'm using my influence over everyone, I should stave off being ousted for at least another day."

"You're doing the best you can, Jace," Zoe said. "No one said it was gonna be an easy job, but you've gotten this far, so that's a plus."

"Man, you guys sound like a broken record," I shot back sarcastically. "How's the fort doing?"

"Restless, to put it mildly. We've been still for a month now, and with you elected, everyone is ready to do something. We're not used to sitting tight."

"I see. Well, hopefully we won't be to much longer and..."

I was suddenly interrupted by a sharp intake of breath coming from Zoe's end, and I immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

"Jasican, is Lydia with you?"

I grew instantly confused, and as right assumed Lydia had heard my entire conversation with Zoe, she started walking towards me as I said, "Yeah, she's right here."

"Hang on," Zoe said impatiently, followed by a moment of silence. "Zoe?" I asked, now growing concerned. 

The next sentence sent a chill directly into my non-functioning heart, "There's been an incident in Britain. A nuclear power plant just had a catastrophic meltdown and went nova."


	18. Chapter 18

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jacob's Point of View_

 

After Jasican had left, I decided that I should take the time to rest up now, just in case we have to pull an all-nighter with the possibility of another meeting. Since the other vamps didn't need to sleep, and Seth opted to stay up, I took the small bed and laid down. I felt like I only got five seconds before I heard the speeding sound of Jasican and Lydia coming back into the hut, wearing very significant looks.

I grew concerned instantly, "Jasican, what's wrong?"

"Where's Sarah?" he asked hastily. "I need to speak to her immediately!"

"Jace..."

"Now! Please," he pleaded, "it's urgent."

"Alright, alright," I said, confused. "I'll find her."

I followed her scent to a larger hut located halfway across the village. Jasican knocked on the door and within a moment, my mother appeared from behind. "Yes, Jasican."

"I'm aware that your chieftain didn't want me to talk to any of the Elders," Jasican began, "but it's important that I speak to Aennik."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"It's better if I have at least one Elder here," he countered, "so I can share at once."

She closed her eyes for a moment before opening the door, and revealing Aennik inside. "Yes, m'boy," he voice boomed. "What can I do for you?"

Jasican walked inside and I instantly followed with Seth and the other vamps close in tow. He stopped short in front of Aennik and said, "I'm afraid I need to take my group and leave back for the palace. Tonight."

All eyes now were cast on Jasican and mother was the first to ask, "What for?"

"There's been a situation," Jace replied. "I've just been in contact with my Second and she has informed me that there has been an incident in the UK involving the destruction of a power plant there."

My confusion was now merged with the other shifters now in the room while the remaining vamps' eye grew wide with shock. Aennik asked, "Well, what does that have to do with us?"

"With Lydia with me," he gestured towards her, "and with my Second, we have come to the conclusion that the attack was directly involving vampires."

Silence now fell upon the room. No one had said anything for a moment before Ty said, "How did you come to that?"

"Well," Jasican began, "without knowing too much about how nuclear plants work, when a plant normally melts down, it's just supposed to emit a cloud of radioactive fallout within a small area from the core contaminating the surrounding area. This was different, as the plant had _detonated_ with the force of a small nuclear device, creating a large area of total destruction, and at last count, about a couple thousand deaths in Suffolk. This at least brought Zoe and I to the conclusion that this was an attack."

"And since there has never been a successful human terrorist attack against a plant," Lydia continued, "we thought that a vampire would easily be able to penetrate the protections of a plant and deliver whatever was needed to make this happen."

Another moment of silence had issued for the shock to pass. Aennik then said to Jasican, "So what do you plan to do about it?"

"We need to gather our sources together and find out whether the attack was from random vampires, or the Volturi. Essentially, find out how much larger the threat has become."

"Ha! Another story," a bitchy, but very familiar voice had said. I turned around to see their stupid Alpha, Edemeé, emerge from outside (I really wish that position didn't exist). "What's to say that your people weren't behind it? You've still never proven that these 'Volturi' even pose a threat to begin with. If anything, you could be the ones forcing law on your kind and simply covering your own acts of senseless destruction. Especially with that freak-of-nature," she pointed squarely at Jasican, "in control of a coven with his own mind control powers. A little convenient, wouldn't you say?"

I really couldn't handle her attitude anymore, "Listen, you over-spoiled brat! Maybe you've been cooped up in this village for the length of your short life, but take it from the word of a fellow, _much-older_ shifter, that your assertion of the Volturi is gonna end up getting you killed!"

"Spoken like a true, whipped puppy," she shot back at me. "It's no wonder that your 'events', or exile, as you should really call it, was as a result of you being a collaborator with these freaks. And what's to say that he isn't controlling you right now?" the smugness on her face was such that I wanted to rip it off to show her how wrong she was.

I walked up straight to her face and shouted, "I was Imprinted to Jasican far before he became a vampire, you stupid, condescending bitch! It's amazing how you can come up with the most far-fetched conspiracy theories, but in turn know absolutely nothing."

"You...!"

"ENOUGH!" we heard a bellow come from the outside, through the open door. Annika had walked into the hut, a look of controlled rage on her face. "I shall hear no more of this arguing! From either of you," she looked at both myself and Edemeé.

"Chieftain," Jasican started. "I apologize for breaking your mandate, but I felt I needed to inform an Elder of my departure, and I happened to find Aennik first."

"I have overheard your discussion," Annika had said, bringing her tone down to normal. "A most troubling set of events, if all were true," she now walked past us in order to talk to Jasican directly.

"I would like to think that it was just an unfortunate accident," Jasican said, "but my gut feeling tells me there is something more malicious here. I need to go back to that I can pool my resources together and find out what the situation is."

"I see," Annika replied. "Sarah? Would you be so kind as to accompany Jasican back to his coven?"

"Of course, Chieftain." She slightly bowed her head.

"And I'm coming with you too," Aennik said. "After all this excitement, I find plenty of reason to accompany them myself, in the interest of gaining Elder perspective."

"I hate to be the one to bring this up," I said, "especially as much as I despise Elder rules, but only the Chieftain is allowed to exit the territory without the Elders' consent. Any of the other Elders would have to be allowed out my a majority vote from the council."

"He has a point, brother," Annika responded. "And with the current state of the council, I'm afraid they will not permit you to leave the village with the vampire. And before you ask, no I would not wish to leave the village."

"Nor would I ask you, sister," Aennik replied.

"Well, whomever is going with us, had better decide now," Jasican said impatiently. "I endeavor to be back at the palace well before sunrise."

"This is ridiculous!" Edemeé hissed. "None of these vampires have offered proof to any of their assertions, and you're willing to endanger yourself, one of our leaders of the tribe, in order to satisfy your curiosity?" she said to Aennik.

"Yes, Edemeé," Aennik shot back. "Unlike you, I do not see a threat in everything that comes to our people and this village. It's a shame that you share your father's view of vampires and the outside world, and while I also did at one point, I have learned to see past that, and find that there can be truth in other places. I trust my judgment, I trust my daughter's judgement, and I trust your mother's judgment, which you should be doing in the first place," he briefly pointed at Edemeé. "And I'm surprised that would acknowledge me as one of your leaders when you seem to fashion yourself as one, and ignoring your own mother's authority."

He didn't allow Edemeé to speak again before he turned his attention to Jasican. "You have already made great strides in proving us truth uncomfortable to you. Such news that, were it the Quileutes or similar tribe, they would have attacked you on the spot. Please, don't prove me wrong, as I would genuinely like to see our species join with you in harmony instead of violence."

"I will try, Elder," Jasican said, inclining his head.

"There is still the matter of you leaving, brother." Annika said. She paused for a moment before turning to Edemeé and asked, "When was the last time you had a training run, daughter?"

She nearly snorted, "I haven't had one in ages, don't need to. I'm in peak condition."

"Well, I disagree, and I think Aennik should take you with the vampires back to their coven in order to train more properly in fighting the rouge ones."

I was about to say something, but having Annika's double meaning nearly slipped through my mind, Jasican spoke up and said, "It would be my pleasure to accept Edemeé in our fold to train her." His smile was friendly, but I had the pleasure of him sending me a mental message, saying _This is gonna be fucking great._ I keep the laughter within myself (which proved difficult seeing the look on Edemeé's face, similar to a look of constipation), and joined in the gratitude coming from the rest of the group.

"Very well, make your preparations and visit me once more before you depart,"Annika said. I turned to rejoin Jasican, but before we got far, Annika said, "Wait, Jasican. A moment alone, if you please."

Jasican turned around and I followed, not wanting to leave his side. Annika sighed and said, "I guess it would do me no good to tell you to leave us. You're Imprint is strong, I can easily sense that, and its debatable whether our family stubbornness is stronger or not."

"Hmm," I said, amused. "I oddly have never considered that."

"Jasican," she turned back to him, "Know that I am not granting this loophole lightly, and I am still taking an awful risk letting Aennik and Edemeé accompany you back to your coven. While I do admit my daughter can be paranoid at times, she does bring up good points, and I would not like to see her proven right one of these days."

"I assure you, I will get to the bottom of this," Jasican said. "It is my hope that this will bring our species closer together in cooperation, in time."

"In time," Annika repeated. "I will instruct my brother and daughter to contact me at noon tomorrow with news of your proceedings."

"Would you like me to leave you a phone for you?" Jasican asked. I looked at him and gave him a raised eyebrow, indicating what he should already know. "Right," he caught on, "sorry, I'm still not used to the pack telepathy thing."

She nodded her head once before saying, "It's quite alright. I should very much like to know more about you when the time comes, Jacob," she said to me. "Sarah's departure from you was quite painful, and I would very much like to see us all become a family, wholly."

I didn't know what to say. It was odd that my father was already a chieftain, but that my newly-found grandfather was an Elder and my great-aunt the Chieftain of a whole separate tribe, and my mother's cousin the Alpha. Much had been woven in my family, the more I discover, and I was now wondering I would be stuck with another freaking family destiny. I just replied, "Thanks, I hope to get to know you all also. I guess I have a lot of history to catch up on."

"Indeed," Annika said. A moment later, Lydia had come back through the door and said, "I've already called Zoe and informed her we're bringing back three more shifters."

"Let's just hope the coven takes my words seriously about shifter prejudice," Jasican replied, "or I'm not going to be happy. I'll assure to Aennik and Edemeé they are to be afforded the same courtesy as Sarah has received before," he said to Annika.

Aennik and Edemeé returned back to the hut, nearly stripped of clothing in order to shift quickly. "We're ready to go, sister," Aennik said. "I'll make sure Edemeé does well in her training." Edemeé was simply in a foul mood, being used as a way to get Aennik out of the village without incident.

Apparently, Annika didn't like the idea of her daughter going either. "You are to behave yourself while you are within company of Aennik and Jasican," she said scornfully. "You will not cause or create violence from within, and intolerance is not permitted, and non-negotiable. Failure to comply will result in your expulsion from the tribe. Is that clear, Edemeé?

She wore a look of deepest annoyance for her mother, but she replied, "Yes, mother."

"I hope to hear better news after you have returned to your palace, Jasican," Annika said. "But I have to share the gut feeling that things are not as pleasant as they would appear. In that case, I simply bid you good luck and farewell to you all."

We all inclined out heads and turned to leave without another word. Seth and I took out clothes off and shifted before we leaped off the platforms for the drop back down to the forest floor. Mother, Edemeé, and Aennik followed shortly, while Jasican and the other vamps simply jumped off and landed silently next to us. I motioned to Jasican to ride on my back, to which I was surprised he immediate obliged.

"Normally, I wouldn't, since I feel you shouldn't have to be my taxi, but time is of the essence," he said. "I would kindly request that the rest of you take a vampire so that we may move quicker back to the palace."

The beige wolf, Edemeé, shook her head in obvious refusal. The brown wolf with two white strips flanking either side, my mother, took Lydia upon her, and the grey and black wolf, Aennik, took Brett's massive form upon him. Seth eagerly took Ty on him and after spotting an eye roll from Edemeé, we took off into the night, deep into the forest.


	19. Chapter 19

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

While on the wolves, it took us only half the time to return to the palace, and we arrived well ahead of schedule. We stopped short of the palace so that Jacob and the other shifters can return to human form and dress themselves to look presentable. I couldn't help but keep an eye on Edemeé as we continued the rest of the way on foot, watching her movements in case she attempted attack, but I quickly shook the notion. I knew with Sarah and Aennik here, they would be able to keep proper restraint on her, not to forget Seth and Jacob of course. 

We walked through the main doors into the entrance hall (the doors were always kept open, as we never found reason to close them), and into the main foyer where we found it empty. The door to Godric's office was open and before I had a chance to get halfway into the foyer, Zoe had already emerged from the office. 

"Jasican," she said. "Hey, I wasn't expecting you for a couple more hours."

"Well, a couple were gracious enough to let us hitch a ride from them," I explained with a smile. "Zoe, may I present Aennik, one of the five Elders of the Chimakun Tribe, and Sarah's father; and Edemeé, his niece and Alpha to their tribe. You're already familiar with Sarah."

"Pleasure," she said, nodding at both Aennik and Edemeé, to which only the former returned. She began to walk back to the office when she said, "I was hoping to get more info on the latest development before you arrived. Outside the normal stuff, you know, reaction videos, disaster scenes, evacuations, all that lovely stuff."

"And what is this latest development?" I asked cautiously, knowing I wasn't going to like the answer. 

"Well, let's just see if the news is back on," Zoe replied grimly as we entered the office. While everyone else took placed either standing against a wall, just plain standing, or sitting on a chair or table, I was unsure where to place myself. I looked over at the main desk where Godric had presumably seat there, and being the new leader, I was fully entitled to sit there, but I felt like I hadn't earned that chair yet. I opted to just stand next to the desk as everyone else got situated.

Zoe unmuted the tv and after a short commercial, the news was back on. As it was about two in the morning here, it was probably late morning in the UK, and as such, Zoe had the channel on the British news, and from the moment their voices resonated, I knew this event had already taken a toll on the local population.

"We are continuing the story on a disaster that happened just about two hours ago in Suffolk," a male anchor had said. "As we have already reported, the village of Sizewell within the Suffolk county has suffered considerable damage in direct consequence to a meltdown at a nuclear power plant located just outside the village. This meltdown did not act as intended, according to officials, and instead of emitting radiation fallout alone, the power plant had _exploded_ with the force of a small tactical nuclear weapon."

Pictures had begun to surface on the screen of the devastation and I almost lost the ability to hold my mouth closed. I looked in horror as a wide area of pure destruction was carved into a near perfect circle around what used to be a small town. But what sunk my non-existent heart was how wide the area was, other small towns, just a few miles away, also burned to the ground, their populations now wiped from the face of the planet.

"English officials have already called a state of emergency and are calling on the Parliament for immediate assistance, while President Barack Obama of the United States, has already been in contact with the Prime Minister, and has offered aid. However, as the event had occurred just a short while ago, the best local police and response teams can do for the moment is evacuate the remaining areas around the blast site, as fallout from the event is still emitting from the epicenter. This in turn is leaving thousands stranded without aid, in danger of succumbing to the negative effects of the radiation, as they are too close to the blast radius for response teams to enter without protection. Officials have assured that they are working as fast as they can to reach the trapped citizens within those areas."

More images zoomed by, typical scenes of emergency aid being rushed to areas, makeshift hospital areas propped up with hundreds of people inside, being treated for radiation poisoning and burns. Not a single person was moving or making a noise, and all eyes were glued to the news. I didn't need to look over at Lydia, or even guess to know this would have the most profound effect on her.

"We are just now receiving official word from MI5 that what was previously hypothesized has now indeed been confirmed: just moments before the explosion, what appears to be a large projectile has been fired into the reactor just before the meltdown. Video evidence, which had been obtained remotely through MI5, now shows that this event is not an instance of negligence, or an accident, but is now being considered an attack. MI5 representatives are not commenting any more at this time, but we have managed to obtain the video footage ourselves, and as you can see..."

Now I was unable to keep my mouth closed. The video shown on the screen of the reactor core of the plant, with several workers at their stations, had appeared normal for a second before something large had zoomed across the screen at high speeds, penetrating the reactor, and within a moment, the feed had cut off, presumably from the explosion. But what left me in shock was what that projectile looked like. I dared to turn to Zoe and ask, "Is that what I think it is?"

Without a word, she took the remote and pressed rewind on the DVR, stopping the image as the projectile had reached the middle of the screen. I knew immediately that they humans wouldn't pick this up, their cameras and their eyes would not be able to distinguish that this thing that had been fired into the reactor had not been launched at all. The projectile was twisting tightly, coiled up to ensure that it would go through on its first try, and didn't look remotely like any missile I had ever seen before. What we were all seeing was a vampire launching itself through the room and using its own strength to enter the reactor by force.

Nobody had dared to speak, looking at the image, and a few moments had passed before anyone had moved. I closed my eyes and scanned the palace, searching for a particular mind. When I found him, I said, telepathically, _Carlisle, please come to the office at once._

Within a few seconds, Carlisle had entered the office, giving me a confused look. "You asked for me?"

"Yes," I was surprised how strained my voice was from the emotion I was feeling. "Before anything, I should inform you that there has been an incident in England. A power plant had detonated with the force of a small nuke, and as you can imagine, it's bad. Really bad."

"I see," Carlisle replied, now apparent he was forcing a look of clam upon him. "And your question?"

"I assume as a doctor, you are familiar with vampire physiology, correct?"

"Yes, of course."

"I need you to tell me the elemental composition of a vampire body," I asked simply.

"Well," he began, still looking confused, "when we transform into our vampires bodies, some of the elements actually change as we undergo the process. What is normally the most abundant substance in out body, water, or hydrogen and oxygen, is now reorganized to further enhance the carbon in our bodies."

"Carbon?" I said. "Yes, because we are considered carbon-based lifeforms"

"That's right," he replied, "and because most of the elements in out body essentially transmutes into another element, carbon is now the majority element in our bodies, and save for the few trace heavy elements residing in our venom, its essentially the only element we have."

It took a second to dawn on me why carbon would now be the primary substance our bodies are made up out of. "The bonds," I said, to which Carlisle nodded. "It's not just the elements that are transmuted, but the way the carbon bonds as well." I may have failed Biology, but I did learn something from that class.

"Excuse me," I heard that bitchy voice of Edemeé again. "Could someone please explain to me what the hell you guys are talking about?"

Trying not to sigh in frustration, I calmly turned to Edemeé and said, "Carbon is an essential element for the life of humans, but the way they are bonded determines how the carbon is formed."

"You speak of elements, but I only know of the four: air, water, earth, and fire," Edemeé shot back. "There is no such mention of this 'carbon'."

"If you would have been granted the luxury of a typical high school education, you would have learned that what you refer to is the three states of matter, and energy," I replied. "True elements are essentially the many branch-offs of the original elements, telling us what exactly air, water, earth, and fire are all made out of. In regards to the element carbon, one of the lightest in terms of what sub-atomic particle make it up."

"What?" she gave me another confused look.

Which I ignored, "But how it bonds with each other is essentially the difference between pencil lead and diamonds, both which are made out of carbon. Our bodies, vampire bodies, from what Dr. Cullen has expressed, has not only enhanced the amount of carbon within our bodies, but the bonds reorganized to which we are almost literally composed of diamonds, to put it simply. I'm getting it right do far, right?" I looked back at Carlisle for confirmation. 

"Yes, you've got it," he replied. "I'm impressed."

"I may have failed biology, but I still learned a thing or two," I replied. 

"So what does any of this have to do with that," Sarah quipped this time, pointing to the screen with the frozen image of the vampire. 

"If a vampire is durable enough, it is my suspicion that whoever this is," I pointed at the screen, "used its own strength to penetrate the reactor, and manipulate the core, presumably creating the circumstances needed to detonate it."

"But it's not that simple," Ty had spoken up. "There has to be certain circumstances in order to create a device capable of detonating. Such at the material needed to create a bomb, while the element is the same in a nuclear reactor, it's nowhere near enriched enough to be weapons-grade."

I stared at Ty for a moment before replying, "Can anyone confirm this?"

When no one answered, Ty said, "What? Can't someone have an interest in nuclear physics? We do have a lot of spare time."

"Alright then," I responded. "What do you think could have been the catalyst for a nuclear explosion where there wasn't supposed to be one?"

"The isotopes in the uranium used in nuclear reactors..."

"In English, please," Edemeé broke in, much to our annoyance.

"The materials to make a reactor work," Ty continued, "would essentially have to be changed on the spot, or a new source, a weapons-grade source, be introduced into the reactor. And there would have to be enough material shaped to create a sustainable chain reaction."

"I still don't get it," Edemeé said, throwing her hands up.

"No one asked you to 'get it'," Jacob said. "This isn't something easily understood, just accept that this vampire was able to enter this place and create a bomb big enough to destroy a large area and consume an entire town and a lot of humans."

"You mentioned that vampire venom could transmute elements," I said to Carlisle before Edemee could say anymore. "Is it possible that whoever this was used his venom to adjust the uranium to an isotope needed to create an explosion?"

"It would essentially be a total shot in the dark," Carlisle almost laughed. "The venom is meant for organic purposes, and I've never heard of an instance of it being used to change an inanimate object from one element to another."

"Then it sounds like the only other option was that it was able to obtain weapons-grade uranium," I concluded. "And for those unfamiliar with the substance, it's not something you find everyday on the ground. This stuff is highly guarded, governments take care to never let it fall into the wrong hands, and it is coveted by terrorist groups, totalitarian regimes, you know, the bad guys. To have uranium lying around in the open is something almost completely unheard of, it'll always be locked up."

"Then it has to be someone who has a lot of power and resources," Lydia had finally chimed in. "It has to be the Volturi."

"No," Carlisle had said, "they may be hellbent on destroying us, but they would never senselessly kill innocents. They would avoid anything that would draw any attention to them."

"Hmm," Brett said, "when it comes to the Volturi, nobody can be certain of their motives. They have no qualms with killing humans for food and destroying vampires to maintain their position as rulers. I don't believe it would be that far of a stretch."

"Regardless of whether or not it's the Volturi," I broke in, "the fact remains that we now have an entity capable of delivering destruction of a massive scale. And all it takes is one suicidal vampire to repeat what happened in England. Essentially, we have a bigger fucking problem than before."

"Then what's our next move?" Zoe asked me. Almost on cue, all eyes were back on me, waiting for orders. Fuck. 

"Well, I haven't exactly completed my first task yet," I began. "And without fulfilling my original mandate in regards to taking leadership..."

"Let me stop you right there," Aennik interrupted. "Are you really so hellbent on putting yourself down at every turn?"

"But I..."

"Listen, your original goal was to establish a relationship with our tribe, was it not? You have an Elder and his niece..."

"Speak for yourself, Uncle," Edemeé chimed in sourly. "I was dragged here."

"And you'll make the best of it," Aennik scolded her. "You have no reason to hate these people, they have done nothing to us and seem to at least show genuine concern for human life. Are you really gonna turn your back on that?"

When she didn't reply, Aennik turned back to me and said, "I wouldn't believe for a moment that your coven perpetuated this monstrous attack against the humans. For the sake of fulfilling your personal goal, know for the moment, you have gained my trust, and I'll see to it that you keep an open dialogue with the Chimakuns. Try not to disappoint me, m'boy."

I couldn't help but smile as I said, "Thank you."

"And as to our next move?" Brett had repeated Zoe. 

"Well, our original goal is still the same," I said, "but it would be helpful if we could officially find out who launched this attack, whether it was the Volturi or a new entity."

"I still think it was the Volturi," Lydia said sourly. 

"Well, it'd be great if we could find someone from the Volturi and ask them?" Jacob said. "Not that we could find one, let alone get them to talk."

"Maybe we don't have to," I chimed in, suddenly with an idea. 

I received confused looks all around, and Jacob asked, "What do you mean?"

"I think it's time we visit an old friend," I said with a hint of smile. 


	20. Chapter 20

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jacob's Point of View_

 

While I had known that this palace had an underground, seeing as its been a while since I had been down with Jasican, I had almost forgotten how huge it was. I wasn't sure if it was only one floor or more underneath, but the contents of this floor was enough to blow you away. Inside was an incredibly wide, circular vault system, with eight doors that granted access to each portion of the vault. Jasican had figured that this was the best place to lock up Raymond, seeing as he didn't want to kill him, and we had no other options of what to do with him. 

We came around the vault, leaving most of the group behind back at the office. Aennik, Edemeé, and my mother were invited to come and see Raymond for themselves. I haven't exactly seen him since the day before the Volturi battle, but I knew right from the get-go that he was a raging racist against shifters, Jasican confirming it after his betrayal was discovered. We walked three doors around the vault before spotting that little strong guy, Micah, in front of Raymond's prison. He looked to be keeping the best spirits, but I knew he probably didn't like the prospect of having to face Raymond again. 

Jasican walked up to Micah, obvious that he summoned him down here as he did with Carlisle, and he handed Jasican something, and I immediately caught the scent of blood, deer blood if I was correct. I didn't understand why Jasican would be concerned with feeding Raymond before interrogating him, probably to get better cooperation is suppose. 

"Now, I must warn you," Jasican began, "Raymond doesn't exactly like shifters, in fact, none in the least, so don't pay too much heed to the insults. I'm hoping to give you a glimpse into the mindset of a Volturi."

My mother and Aennik both nodded, Edemeé remaining motionless as usual. Jasican keyed in the code and opened the vault. I now understood why the blood was needed: I took one glimpse at Raymond to see him positively feral. I looked over at the right side of the vault to see broken bags of dried blood, splattered against the wall. No chains had held him, but he was sitting, legs crossed in the center of the floor, so motionless that he could have easily been a statue. 

Jasican's demeanor changed almost instantly upon seeing Raymond, "I hear you still haven't been accepting your blood, Raymond."

His dark eyes looked up, ready to kill, but still held a hint of rebellion. "Why would I even look at that when you could just as well stuff human shit in my mouth. I'd rather wait until I can properly feed, on true blood when I'm able to rid myself of this place."

He looked over past Jasican to me and the rest of the shifters, "Damn, I had high hopes you would be dead," he pointed at me, "and I see you've brought more mutts and bitches to foul up my palace."

"Told you," Jasican muttered distastefully as I heard a growl coming from Edemeé. Jasican turned his attention back towards Raymond and said, "I need you in a better state of mind before I can start asking you questions."

"No," he said defiantly. Jasican threw the bag of blood in front of him, bouncing once and landing a couple feet away from him. Raymond just glares at it. "My self control is a lot better than you realize, young one."

"Take the blood, Raymond," Jasican said again, losing his patience. 

In a flash, Raymond grabbed the bag of blood and was prepared to throw it amongst the rest. However, Jasican had seemed to anticipate this, and before Raymond could destroy this bag of blood, Jasican vibrated once more and Raymond stopped motionless, his eyes now matching the darkness of his irises, signifying his mental domination of him. 

"I had a feeling I would have had to take him," Jasican said. "I must admit, I'm getting better at controlling my powers."

Without another word, Jasican prompted Raymond to open the bag and consume the entire thing within a few seconds. While I knew it wouldn't be enough to fully satisfy him, it would curb his hunger, at least for now, and allow him to maybe answer Jasican's questions. 

Micah came around and stood next to Jasican. "Need me to hold him down?"

"Nah," Jasican replied. "I can handle this. Just keep an eye out."

He held up a hand and in a moment, the blackness if Raymond's eyes retracted, leaving his eyes an almost bronze color. He stood dazed for a second before he brought his hand to his mouth and wiped off a leftover drop of blood. He instantly grew furious, and said, "How fucking dare you?!"

"Raymond, I can easily take your mind again and draw out the answers I need from you."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Your cooperation would be extremely helpful, seeing as your allegiance is to the Volturi, and you have information that may help me."

Raymond laughed, "Are you fucking kidding me? What, do you think that you're the leader now or something?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I am," Jasican replied. "While I'm not to enthused by it, the rest of the coven felt I was the best choice to lead them."

"Wow," Raymond said is what sounded like genuine surprise. "Wow, I cannot believe that the Volturi had overestimated you so much. It appears I really would have been running a coven full of mindless idiots. To even consider an election of someone to lead a coven," Raymond fell backwards and laughed. "It's so fucking pathetic!"

Jasican rolled his eyes. I'm sure he knew as well as I did that Raymond wouldn't yield any true answers, but with the other shifters never seeing a Volturi before, I suspect he would at least try before yanking the answers out of his head. 

"Listen," Jasican began, "if you're not going to be in the least be cooperative with me, then I'm just going to have to do things my way."

"'Your way'?" Raymond nearly laughed again. "No, you stupid piece of shit. There is no 'your way'. You don't get it, do you? You're never in control, you have absolutely no idea what's going on, just like you had no idea what would happen a few hours ago in Suffolk."

I had a horrible wrenching in my chest as the entire vault went silent for a moment. Jasican looked to have taken a moment to compose himself before asking, "How the fuck did you know about that?"

"Do you really think that you can outsmart us, young one?" Raymond said smugly. "Did you really think the Volturi would just let you get away with dethroning me, locking me up, and just forgetting me? We had planned this far before Godric was killed, that when the Volturi haven't heard from me for a time, then they show how much they are committed to showing you who the true rulers of our race are."

I could see the anger contorting Jasican's face as that stupid fuck continued, "You have seen what had happened when the Volturi hadn't heard from me in a month. I can't wait to see how hardened your resolve is when the next event comes. And the best part is, you can go into my head, yank out my entire mind's worth of memories, and you'll find nothing. We've learned from our first incursion here that the gifts of the several vampires who had refused our service had to be properly defended against. And while you gift differs from that of the Cullen telepath, the result will be the same: I have only been granted only a portion of the knowledge of the Volturi's activities. Only my master will have the complete knowledge of his actions, and even then, he knows to keep his thoughts and decisions hidden from those brats in the Cullen clan. Until then, you'll be left with a wide puzzle with only a few pieces to work with."

Jasican was really struggling with his emotions now, I could see his fists clench up, but he steeled his resolve and placed a look of calm back on his face. My mother and the others remained still and nearly emotionless.

"All this, just to keep drinking from humans, and hopes of a position greater than what you have now," Jasican replied. "If you thought my delusions of grandeur were broad, I can't wait to see how large yours are, especially if you believe that Aro will grant you a right hand spot after you deliver us on a platter."

"My master has promised me much," Raymond said calmly. "And rest assured he will keep delivering on those promises until either I'm released, this coven is disbanded, or your head at his feet. Know you have made a powerful enemy by siding against the Volturi, and for your continued dissidence, only more humans will suffer for it. Their blood will be on your hands, just like the thousands who were evaporated in Suffolk."

"And you really think that foolish sentiment will stop me?" Jasican said defiantly. "Only the murderers will have the sick notion of blaming the oppressed for actions that they themselves have performed because they are unable to cope with the fact that maybe there are others that don't think the way that do. It's the kind of reverse thinking, that reverence for blood and power that already classify you in a dismal state of mind. It is clear that nothing I say to you will change you mind, as you humanity will have dissolved a long time ago, if you had any, and your state of mind is no better than a human religious fundamental."

"Then you had better be prepared for war, young one," Raymond said with equal defiance. "And know that when my master comes for you, he will show you the same mercy he showed Godric. You have picked a losing side, and you, and everything you love, will suffer dearly for it." He glanced at me and the rest of the people here. "You'll get no more from me."

Jasican turned around, not looking at anyone. I could tell Raymond's words were getting under his skin, but he was doing his best not to show it. After a brief moment, Jasican's body had vibrated once more, and he said, "I'm really sorry, Raymond, if I gave you the impression that you were given a choice." In a flash, Jasican sped towards a dominated Raymond and grasped his head with both hands, connecting with his mind and sucking everything out of his head. Raymond, even while dominated, looked to be in extreme pain, as he mind was relentlessly probed. After a few minutes, Jasican released him, causing Raymond to collapse onto the floor, and without another work, exited the vault.

I motioned to the others to follow, but I could tell they were becoming a bit uneasy at Jasican. I know he's still young for a vampire, and he still needs work on his control, but having not see Jasican angry very often while a vampire causes me to worry too.

Jasican waited for us to exit the vault before Micah closed the massive door, and Jasican reentered the key to lock it. He looked a bit calmer now, but without knowing firsthand how that particular power works, I can assume he was still processing the memories that he had obtained from Raymond. He looked at his watch and looked at Aennik and Edemee. "It's almost noon, I would suggest you head back topside or wherever so that you can contact Annika. Inform her of everything." Before they turned to leave, I added, "Briefing's in half an hour, if you wish to join." Both nodded and walked towards the elevator we came in, Sarah and Micah following suit. 

After a brief moment, Jasican started for the opposite end of the chamber for another elevator, which emerged from the opposite side of the palace. After we entered and started ascending, Jasican punched the wall, leaving a good sized dent in it.

"I can't fucking believe it," he said, "just when I think we could finally get the jump on the Volturi, it turns out they're two steps ahead of us."

"What did you see?" I asked.

"It was just as he said," Jasican replied. "He knew certain things, but it's only bits and pieces. I'd have to literally get another member of the Volturi to gain more sense of these plans."

"Someone high up, I presume," I said, fearing the obvious answer.

"Yes, and all locked away in Volterra," Jasican said dismally. "This is a fucking disaster, I'm not going to have a clear cut way of continuing this coven if I keep hitting roadblocks like these. And that's not even considering Suffolk." He sighed, "Maybe I am in way over my head."

"No," I said firmly. "You are the best choice to lead this coven, and I'm not just saying that because I'm Imprinted to you. It just a setback, but you already have at least a few of the Chimakun leadership willing to keep things open with you. And who knows, maybe altogether, we can come up with a plan to continue our goal. Because you know what the alternative is."

"And there is no fucking way I'm giving this coven back to Raymond so he could warp their minds back to drinking human blood," Jasican said sourly. "I'm caught between a rock and a hard place, it's either I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't, and I have a lot of people counting on me. You have absolutely no idea how much I'm missing Godric right now."

"Yeah, I bet," I said, reaching around to grab his hand. Jasican looked at me and gave me a sad smile before he laid against me. We wrapped our arms together to embrace each other as the elevator doors opened once more to reveal the ground floor. He looked up at me and said, "I love you, Jacob."

"I love you too," I said back before kissing him on the lips. "And I'll do everything in my power to keep that going."

"Hmm, promise?" Jasican said, closing his eyes.

"Promise," I assured him, kissing him on the forehead.


	21. Chapter 21

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

After taking a few moments to compose myself, I gathered up the courage to return to the foyer, where, just as I had hoped, Micah had gathered the rest of the Cullens (excluding Edward), and Bill, who wasn't present during our initial return. The rest of the group from earlier had already assembled, with the exception of Edemeé and Aennik, who were presumably still outside talking to Annika through their pack telepathy, as it was now noon. 

Carlisle had spotted me almost immediately and asked, "So what did he have to say?"

I replied sourly, "He knew, Carlisle, and it's not the only thing going on here. Needless to say, we aren't as prepared as we thought we were."

"What do you mean?" he asked. 

Just then, I had spotted Edemeé and Aennik coming back into the foyer from outside. I waved them in and said, "Please, take a seat," gesturing at one of the many curved couches surrounding the direct center of the foyer. "I assume your contact with Annika left her satisfied?"

Edemeé snorted, "Hardly. There wasn't too much we could tell her."

"Which is to say, we're waiting for the rest of what you found out," Aennik finished for her. "Annika has patience, our contact was mostly meant to ensure our cooperation with each other is going smoothly."

I nodded once and looked back at Carlisle. "Any word from Edward and the Denali?"

"They should be here around nightfall," he said confidently. "Bella got the call not too long ago."

"Perfect," I said. "So I'll cut to the chase, the Volturi had a contingency plan in case they had suspected that Raymond had been removed from power as the leader of this coven. As a direct consequence, a month from when Raymond was overthrown, the Volturi would send one of their own on a suicide mission that would directly result in the events at Suffolk. But, it gets worse from there. The Volturi are committed to seeing this coven either fallen or suppressed, and as such, they will continue to wait us out in hopes of gaining out surrender, so that no other human lives would be destroyed.

"Unfortunately, this is where Raymond's knowledge becomes incomplete, he was only granted a portion of the information needed to gain full awareness into the Volturi's next plan of attack. They are fully driven to preserving our lives in an attempt to either disband and follow their law, or worse, join their fold and become one of them. The only knowledge I was able to pull it of Raymond was the approximate timeframe of the next two attacks planned, and that each attack is planned to be swift and absolutely deadly, like Suffolk. In two months time, they will launch another retaliatory attack, but location and method are completely unknown. And at the completion of six months since the time of Raymond's dethroning, they will launch what they refer to as the 'final option'. 

"As much as I'd like to say there was more," I admitted, "but unfortunately, that's it. It's apparent that the Volturi are still actively working against us, even if they aren't nearby. I'll admit openly I don't have much to go by, at this point, but for now, the current objective stays the same: we put forth our efforts to gather vampires to our coven to actively combat the Volturi against their plans and continue with the revelation."

"And the plan for thwarting future attacks?" Lydia asked. 

"Until we can either obtain info about their plans, or capture another Volturi with the required knowledge," I began, "then we essentially have two months to complete our goals."

"Two months to complete the revelation?" Bill asked incredulously. "That's not even close to a good idea."

"I'm fully aware of that," I concurred. "It's obvious that Suffolk event had a two-sided outcome."

"For sure, man," Bill said. "The Suffolk attack has left us in the worse position possible for attempting a revelation. By having an unexplained incident, at least unexplained to the humans, and then having us come out of hiding shortly after? It doesn't take a genius to know that the humans will put two and two together, even if we aren't responsible. The Volturi knew what they were doing by launching this attack against our goals."

"So then our goals change," I said. "Until we can stabilize the situation in our favor, we cannot have a revelation, at least for now. We need to now focus solely on gathering our numbers, and finding out what we can about where and how the Volturi are going to launch their next attacks."

"This is foolishness!" Edemeé shouted out, much to Aennik and Sarah's chagrin. "If it's obvious that these Volturi are gonna keep killing humans because you're actively fighting against them, then you need to stop what you're doing so that no other humans are harmed."

"You would yield to a bully?" I asked, raising and eyebrow. 

"A bully that, by your own admission, has the capacity to do whatever, or kill whoever, they want," Edemeé said angrily. "You guys are in way over your heads if you can defeat such a large force with what you have now. And by continuing going against them, you are simply going to make things worse. Are you willing to have a few more thousand human lives on your hands?"

"That is not only an overly simplistic view of the situation," Lydia quipped in, "but incredibly narrow-minded. For you to place the blame on us for something someone else has completely control of, is exactly like cutting off an arm to solve a bug bite. If anything, this should give you more insight on how much the Volturi are willing to go to maintain their control, and give you better incentive to stand against them."

"'Stand against them?!'" Edemeé nearly laughed. "Why would any of us have a reason to fight them, let alone side you with? I don't care what you say, I still think you guys are the blame for letting humans die in this Suffolk place."

Lydia suddenly stood up and said, "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but you're a total bitch." Without another word, she left the foyer, leaving Edemeé unable to respond to her, and looking annoyed.

"What is it with you," Ty began, "that allows you to come into another person's place and act like you're the queen of the universe? I've met you for a short time and I can already share Lydia's sentiment, seeing as how insensitive you are of the whole situation."

"Who'd you think...?"

"Enough," I said firmly, cutting off Edemeé. "It's obvious right from the start that you harbor strong prejudice against vampires, and are against even being in our presence, let alone work with us. But yet none of that has been returned to you, Edemeé. Everyone here has, or at least attempted, to show you the same respect that I've come to expect from Sarah, and now Aennik."

"It's the lack of thought from you part," she began, "all your part, that I have a problem with. You're already seeing the results of typical vampire reflex brought down upon human lives. Just think about what burden you'd be putting on the humans if you do succeed in your revelation. It would be better if you didn't even exist at all."

"It's not just revealing our existence to the humans, it's...it's more than that," I blurted out. "The Sizewell incident, it's by far not the first time vampires have brought suffering to humans, think of the amount of people taken away from their loved ones, either killed or turned, unable to go back to the ones they cared so much about. And the ones that've turned? With their lives frozen for eternity, desires waned, and solitude almost certain, would you wish death upon them for something they had no control over? This revelation is a chance for us to regain control, to regain choice, and to reunite, and who are you to deny that to us, based on your outdated beliefs? If you so dearly hold these beliefs, then you join the fools who have been unable to see past religion and superstition and look to reality. Know that to many vampires, they never had a choice. They are human victims, and it should be within your moral code to defend them as willingly your own comrade, or a human!"

Edemeé became speechless as I continued, "You have much to learn if you are to generalize us all as the same, bloodthirsty villains that the Volturi would want us all to be. We are working to improve ourselves, to attempt to assimilate back into the human race by offering them the knowledge that we are well enough not to feed upon them, to eliminate the reasons why they should fear us. I still can't believe that even within the supernatural community, that there has been rampant racism, especially coming from someone as young as you. You have no place to lecture any of us on how we act when you can't even reel in your own."

Silence had fallen over the foyer, as it was clear Edemeé didn't want to speak anymore, and Aennik and Sarah looked quite beside themselves over Edemeé's behavior. Finally, Sarah spoke up and said, "If we can't convince Annika and the rest of the council to stand behind you, then I will alone. The more knowledge I gain here, the more I see that things in the outside world are quite as removed from us as we thought. And there is, of course, no guarantee that the Volturi wouldn't come against us, our tribe. I believe we must work together."

"As do I," Aennik said. "I'm already outside the borders under loophole, so as long as I stay out, then I am outside most of the laws that would confine me to the tribe. I too will stand with you."

I nodded at both of them and said, "I really do appreciate your help, I feel we'll need it. But we need a plan, and fast. The longer we sit around here, the closer the Volturi get to pulling all the strings."

"There's one thing to note," Brett said. "You, Jasican, are probably the only variable the Volturi can't account for. Aro may have seen your powers, but he wouldn't have any idea how much power you have gained, nor the control you now wield over it. It was enough to send their entire coven fleeing back to Volterra, and whether we want to admit how much strength they have or not, you have, to the least, scared Aro enough to prevent him from finishing what he started here. He's now using plans that were previously formed to try and get you to back down."

"Not to mention that these plans were probably meant for Godric," Ty added, "should he be the one to discover Raymond's betrayal."

"Aro would be dealing with an unknown, just like we are to him," Micah said.

"So then we need to take that unknown and stretch it as far as it will allow us," I concluded. "We need some outside-the-box thinking here."

"What do you suggest?" Zoe asked.

I took a moment to think before I looked to Godric's office briefly. I sped in there to snag the large world map on his desk and brought it into the table at the center of the foyer. "The first day I was here, we were discussing where the best places to find willing vampires to join us would be. The consensus was that we would try for the better known covens spread all over the world, making for easy numbers. However, this approach probably would have worked better if Raymond had not been around to hinder Godric."

"Godric did credit him for gaining what allies we had now," Bill said. "I'm sure he would have had a better time persuading vampires to turn away from us rather than join us. There probably would have been dozens that we could have easily have join us, but Raymond probably kept the numbers at a few in order to convince Godric he was an effective ally."

I looked down at the map. I hadn't given it much though since I've been here, but I had initially noticed that there were various marks all over the map, the greatest concentration being in the United States. The markers held various shapes, from circles, to dots, to Xs. I could immediately guess that the Xs were places where vampires had refuse Godric, or if he couldn't find them. I asked, "What's the difference between the circles and dots?"

"The dots are confirmed places we managed to recruit vampires," Zoe said, "and the circles are places where we have either made contact, and will soon attempt to recruit, or where our information places the best possible locations for them."

I did a quick count, and found that many of the circles were all over the world. "Godric had figured that gathering vampires on an international level would better our chances at uniting the vampires still unsure about our goals," Zoe said.

"Hmm, I agree that should be the case, however, time is not on our side, and we need to move quickly to bolster our numbers." I looked grimly at everyone and said, "Chances are, Raymond is right, and our continued dissidence will result in war. Our best chance would be to find out where Godric and Raymond failed to gather vampires here locally and try again to convince them to join us. Suffolk can be our rallying cry."

"And to stopping the Volturi attacks?" Jacob asked.

I looked to Alice and asked, "Would you be able to see where any of the Volturi would be?"

"I've been trying to, but most of them have blocked my visions effectively," she replied. "I haven't been able to see Aro, Caius, Marcus, or any of the Guard for a while now, despite my best efforts."

"How about younger Volturi members?" I asked. "Could you see them?"

Alice closed her eyes for moment. "Forgive me, you'll have to wait. I have a lot to sort through."

I nodded and continued, "If we can find a lower member of the Volturi who may be accompanying a Guard member or someone of the hierarchy, then either I or Edward my be able to gather information from their minds and determine where they'll next strike. I know it's risky, but I should be able to use my powers to subdue them."

"I have one!" Alice said in excitement. "His name is Samuel and he's accompanying Caius and Demitri out of Volterra too..." She trailed off.

"Alice, what?" I asked.

"Their path takes them to South America, where I had found Nahuel and his family," she finished.

"Fuck," I grunted. "Well, then that cements our first destination. Have you any idea how soon?"

She closed her eyes once more and said, "Best I can get is a week's time. From the tone I'm getting, it's a lower priority decision, so there isn't too much I can see from that."

"Alright, then we need to assemble a team to make way down south as quickly as possible," I said. "Do you remember where you found him?"

"Around the norther Chile area," Alice said. "I basically searched until my visions were blocked. Since I know the general area, it shouldn't take me as long to find them."

"You'll probably be dealing with another half-dozen Volturi along with the other three," Carlisle spoke up.

"Right, so the team will consist of myself, Jacob, Alice, Micah, Bill, and Edward, after he gets back," I replied. "I'll add an addition six or seven to join us. We'll then split into two groups once we get there, one group will have the location of the coven and make contact with them. The other group, which I will lead, will intercept Caius through Alice's visions of this Samuel fellow and secure them to gain more information on stopping these future attacks planned."

"Well, what if they refuse to join us?" Sarah asked.

I heard a throat clear and I turned my attention to Reneesme, who was standing quite still at this point. "I am aware that he's the only other vampire hybrid we've encountered, and vice versa with me, so I believe that with my presence, reminding Nahuel of what he had to stand up for before, will be enough should he not be swayed."

"I appreciate your help," I responded in kind. "Will this be a problem, Bella?"

"Edward will be with you, so I'm fine, but I'm trusting you to do exactly what Edward and Jasican say," Bella said sternly, turning to her daughter. "Don't make me regret sending you, please."

"Of course, Mom," she replied with a hint of annoyance.

"And what would you have the rest of the coven do?" Zoe asked.

I looked back at the map and said, "We need to try and locate any vampires close to here, and convince them to join us as well. How familiar are you," I addressed everyone, "with any other vampires that may be close to here, within, say, three-hundred miles?"

"Hmm," Carlisle began, "there aren't too many that pass by up here, seeing how sparsely populated it is. There was a coven created in Seattle almost ten years ago, comprised entirely of newborns, but unfortunately, they were all destroyed."

"Is there a chance that someone was left behind, or had escaped?" I asked.

"It's possible, but as they were all created by one, it would have been more than likely they all went with her when they invaded Forks," Carlisle said. "I can't see Victoria caring enough about whom she created to notice someone may have escaped."

"It sounds really remote," I said. "I wouldn't want to commit too many vampires for what may be a wild goose chase. But if there is credible evidence that someone from this coven survived destruction and is roaming around Washington, then see if they can be persuaded to join us. Maybe even lead us to others he could have found. Until then," I turned back to Zoe, "see if you can hit a few of these areas," I pointed at the mass of circles and Xs within the North American area, "and find any who are willing. You're free to use whomever is here, as Second, but make sure I'm made aware of everything."

"Of course," Zoe replied.

"As soon as Edward returns with the Denali Coven," I began, "we'll make the arrangements to fly to Chile first chance we get. And we have to move quickly, because I shutter to think what may come if we don't stop the Volturi next time."


	22. Chapter 22

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jacob's Point of View_

 

The sun was setting now as Edward had returned with the Denali Coven. As much as I had wanted to stay by Jasican's side during their meeting, I felt that because of past events, the Denalis may still hold a grudge towards me, or more specifically, the Quileute pack. Way back before the Volturi invaded us the first time, there was a vampire by the name of Laurent, who was originally paired with a vampire couple when Bella first met the Cullens. Unfortunately, the leader was killed by Edward, and his mate, Victoria, sought revenge. Laurent broke off from Victoria for a while and joined the Denali, whom he had began a romantic relationship with on of them. 

The Denalis were a "vegetarian" coven, just like the Cullens, but Laurent was cheating his diet, still seeking humans as food. Eventually, he reunited with Victoria and agreed to track Bella down in an effort to kill her. That's where we intervened, as he found Bella within our land. Though she didn't know it at the time, I had just began to start shifting, and amongst the pack, Laurent was our first vampire kill. And a time later, when Bella was threatened again by Victoria through a newborn vampire army she had created, because of Laurent's death, the Denalis refused to align with us while the Quileutes were still alive. 

After Bella became a vampire shortly after Reneesme's birth, that same vampire Laurent had mated with, Irina, had come to the Cullens to apologize for refusing help. However, she saw Reneesme and thought her to be an immortal child. We had all seen this through Alice's vision, as she saw Irina come before the Volturi and testify what she witnessed. This directly led to the Volturi's first incursion into Washington, and when it was shown Reneesme was not an immortal child, the Volturi swiftly killed Irina, much to the horror of the Denalis. 

Carlisle had insisted that they held no ill will towards me, but I decided that Jasican should be able to meet with them first to explain everything before I made an appearance. I figured that there would still be an awkward factor, at least for the moment, and I could use the time to go out and hunt for a bit. 

I had made my way to the top floor of the palace, mostly an outdoor balcony that nearly encircled the entire domed roof in the center portion. I walked along the south arc, giving a breathtaking view of the waterfall and river, and the small town that settled near the river. I looked to my left and was surprised to see Aennik leaning against the wall, also taking in the sight in the south. 

As I was walking towards him, I said, "I thought you would have stayed with Jasican during the meeting."

Aennik continued to look out as he answered, "Sarah is handling it quite well, and I figured since you held reservations about seeing the coven of Denali, I thought I'd take the opportunity to see you properly."

I stood next to him and mirrored his stance, leaning over the wall edging the balcony. "I must admit, this is all still foreign to me. Back at La Push, the only family I had was my father and the tribe. Eventually, my sisters came back, but only for visits. I had no idea that I had a whole other side of family from another tribe."

"I suspect Billy hid much from you, after your mother left," Aennik said sadly. "It was rough for us, seeing her go, and the years we spend only able to communicate through our minds. Knowing it made her happy, I tried to understand why she stayed with your father as long as she did, but it became apparent that she was only staying for you and your sisters. And the day she finally returned to us..." He broke off for a bit. "It was one of the most sorrow-filled days imaginable for her. She had lost everything: you, Rachel, Rebecca, even Billy, or at least the Billy she knew. It appears his status within his own tribe had inflated his head a bit."

I scoffed before replying, "A bit? Dude, he was a fucking nightmare. If it wasn't lording his power over us, and being all buddy-buddy with Sam, it was how I wasn't a proper wolf, not taking my rightful place as the Alpha, and wishing that he had the opportunity to be one. It was almost like he was wanting to live his life through me, but resenting me for not being exactly what he wanted. I hated it, I felt like I had no life around him."

"I am sorry," Aennik said with full sincerity. "Had you been raise amongst the Chimakuns, you would have seen your life much different. While we maintain similar collectivism, we are not depended on conflict to survive. While as an Alpha, your duty would still be to ensure the safety of our tribe, however, should you choose not to, should you choose to seek your own path, we would respect your wishes. I cannot fully say for certain how much better it would be, seeing as we've isolated ourselves from all touches of civilization."

"Why did you do that?" I asked. "I mean, eventually, your population is gonna move past the point of capacity with your village. At least with the Quileutes, we still were able to interact with other humans, albeit, it was limited."

"The Chimakuns for a time did not possess the ability to properly reproduce, as most of our population was sterile, due to our shifting," Aennik replied. "Most who had lived past a century found that once they stopped shifting, their aging would resume, often at an accelerated pace. We had learned the hard way that there was only a select handful of us whom was able to continue reproduction without limitations. The rest appeared to possess something, possibly passed down from generation to generation, that gradually ended their lines, should they not be able to mate in a short window. I could say we're the lucky ones, but I have no idea what this immunity will cost us in the future. Once we established how much of our population remained intact, we felt the need to protect ourselves in an effort to preserve what little of our tribe remained. Our numbers used to be in the thousand range, now we're barely at a hundred."

He stopped for a moment and gave a significant look before continuing, "It was actually how I lost Mira, your grandmother."

I felt a stabbing pain in my stomach. I wasn't much, but it was enough to let me know that I was feeling sorrow for someone I had just discovered had existed before, but no longer. I wasn't sure what to say at this point and right on cue, Aennik said, "I've already made my peace with it. It was a few decades ago, but that doesn't mean I still don't think about how short our time was together."

He turned to me and said, "Your mother told me you were surprised that you were unaware that there were other shifter tribes, at least nearby your own. While our tribe isn't on the maps anymore, she would have at least though you would have learned about us through Billy, if only to warn you against seeking us."

"What do you mean, 'not on the maps'?" I asked. 

"Well, before we decided to isolate ourselves, we were actually called Chemakums, and up until about forty years ago, we were officially on the Census. Because of our dilemma and our ongoing split with the Quileutes, we decided to migrate east and disappear from view. It was better that everyone thought we had gone extinct, though they truthfully wasn't too far from the mark."

"Hmm, seems like my tribe wanted to repeat history and try to get my Chimakun side to submit," I said. "If it wasn't for me, there would have never even been a consideration between some of my tribemates concerning our feelings towards vampires. I may have still been as hateful as Sam and the others were, and I shutter to think how Seth would have been. I see too much hate."

"And I still do too," Aennik admitted. "While it's been clear that Edemeé holds a certain contempt towards vampires, but only because she saw one kill her own father right before her eyes when she was very small."

"Hmm," was all I could say. "I guess I can understand, but she needs to understand that one person doesn't represent an entire race."

"Believe me, Annika and I have done everything we could to help Edemeé, but what she experienced has hardened her into something I thought I would never see again in my tribe. And since she happened to be the next Alpha after her father died, it is only natural that her feelings were passed on to some of our own. I am disappointed to admit that in a time where we should be looking forward after losing so much, we risk regressing to the old ways, when we still shared the current sentiments of the Quileutes."

Aennik stared out again over the scenery when he said, "I was fearful your mother would become the same way. When Sarah had heard that you had been taken by vampires, I feared everything I taught her would be lost, that she would become as lost as Edemeé was, perhaps worse. When we learned of your fate, she was prepared to fight her way towards you, whether you we're dead or alive. I couldn't tell her, of course, that such action would not bring you back."

"Yeah, Jasican told me about their first meeting," I replied. "I don't think she expected to meet someone like him."

"She's not the only one," Aennik had smiled. "For Jasican, he represents something I have hoped and dreamed for so long: a chance to end it all. A chance to end our conflicts, which have strewn out in the history of vampires and shifters for centuries, perhaps more. And for someone who had lived for as long as I have, and perhaps other vampires who ave lived just as long or older, I think we can agree that we have grown weary of fighting."

"If our revelation were to succeed," I began, "if vampires were able to finally to join with the humans, could you safely say that shifters could do the same?"

"Hmm, it may be too much all at the same time, for humans," Aennik replied, "but yes, I would think we could also rejoin our brothers. Hiding isn't something I'd like myself, or my people to have to endure for any longer than we have to. We're meant to be free to the earth, not confined."

We say there in silence for a few moments as I contemplated Aennik's words. It was surreal, in a sense, that I was standing next to my grandfather, and yet, my mind has yet to make that connection. Maybe these familial revelations have been happening all to fast in its own right, meeting no less than three new family members only a month after rejoining my mother I had long thought dead. I was thinking that perhaps I was learning too much too soon, but I shook off the notion. I knew I was better than this. Like everything, it's just gonna take some time to sink in, then I will be able to fully enjoy a family relationship that I seemed to have lacked to much throughout my life. My father was prevalent, but never empathetic to me. 

My thoughts were then broken by one not of my own. I heard Jasican's voice resound through my head as he said, _Jake, please come up to our room._

Aennik noticed my changed look and asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just Jasican's way of calling me," I replied. "Still not used to telepathic calls as in human form."

I turned to walked away, but I felt Aennik's hand on my shoulder stopping me. "We will have time later, I hope, to further get acquainted with each other. I must admit, this is all new to me too, but I am grateful I have a chance to meet you now, and hopefully later on down the road, Rebecca and Rachel too. I...I would very much like the chance to be a proper grandfather for you."

I nodded and left without saying anything, but still touched by Aennik's words. I wasn't sure what to feel at this point, mostly because they were so foreign. But I also was able to understand a bit more of what he was feeling, seeing how he was also without family for a time. I could see how shattered our entire family was, both on Dad's side, and on Mom's, and the events that have happened in between. Perhaps I had gotten used to the notion that in the end, I would always be alone. For a time, I didn't even think I could Imprint on anyone, to perhaps be able to form my own family. We all have seemed to live a broken life, each as distinct and as damaging as the next, but maybe there still could be a light at the end of the tunnel...for us all.

My thoughts had carried my mind so far, I didn't realize I was already back at the top of our turret, where Jasican and I had been living for the past month. The door was already open and I had found Jasican in a blur, speeding around the room back and forth between the closet and a couple of suitcases open on the bed.

"Jake, good," Jasican spotted me and said, reverting back to human speed. "We've managed to get a flight to Chile in less than a couple of hours. I'm just trying to get everything together for us."

It took a second to sink in before I replied, "Wow, that was fast."

"Yeah, well, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can meet with Nahuel and his sisters," he said, continuing to pack. "Reneesme thinks that she'll be able to convince him to join us, and we'll have Edward with us, so hopefully, that'll be enough to complete the first part of our goal. We still have a bit of time before Caius and Demitri land in Brazil, which is where Alice had seen this Samuel guy accompany them within a week. Is there anything in particular you'd want to bring, Jake?" he asked, stopping again.

"Umm, not really," I said, abashed. "I don't exactly have a whole lot owned, we've just been borrowing these clothes for a while, and I'm not too fussy."

"Okay," he replied, closing out suitcases. "I think I've gotten everything, and I have a pair each of all the toiletries we need, even though I won't need any of that. Passports are taken care of, tickets Zoe's got, we can make hotel reservations on the way there. I think we're set."

My mind was spinning at this point. I know I was still distracted, and Jasican was beginning to pick it up. "Something bothering you?"

"Nah, I was just talking with Aennik," I said. "It's just things I need to get used to."

He just nodded and said, "I can't claim to understand your entire family situation, but I can say that, at the least, you can finally be able to have one."

I mirrored his nod, before asking, "Do you ever think about yours?"

Jasican's mood changed on a dime, his head lowered a bit and he sighed. "All the time," he said softly. "And it's not just the generic missing of them. I think about what they're feeling right now, not knowing what's happened to me, being missing for over a month. It hurts, Jake."

"I'm sorry, Jace," I said, walking towards him and embracing him.

"I mean, I think about it all the time, just a call, or a text," he said, his voice unimproved. "Anything to show that I'm still around, but I know that, with everything going on, with what we're trying to accomplish, I feel like sending them anything would risk them being drawn into our conflict. Something I would not have the heart to do, and something I would be directly responsible for should anything happen to them."

"It may take a while," I began, "but at least you can know that when this is all over with, you can face them again and they'll know everything. I doubt they'll care what species you are, just knowing you're safe and alive is all that counts."

"Yeah," he replied, still a bit unfazed. He brought himself out of my embrace a bit and continued, "Or we fail miserably and my parents and brother can all rightly assume I'm dead."

"Jasican!" I complained, almost head-butting him in frustration.

"What? I'm being realistic."

"I don't care, I don't want another lecture on how our odds aren't good, just do the best you can. I know you're for living in the moment, so try not to cloud yourself with possibilities of the future."

"Yeah," he repeated, "plus, it's like I said before a while back, plans are..."

"...Fragile things, I know," I finished for him, "but you can't believe everything is gonna fail. Vigilance, not pessimism, 'kay?"

He chuckled briefly before replying, "Okay, Jake. Pulled me out of another slump, didn't you?"

"Hey, I didn't mean to being you down, so what else could I do?"

Jasican came back to me and kissed me softly on the lips. "Just keep me up, okay?"

"Always."


	23. Chapter 23

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

My concentration was broken as I heard the plane touchdown on the runway. Jacob, myself, and the rest of the group I had brought with me had just completed a seven-hour flight to Arina, Chile. Landing in Chucalluta International Airport, I was able to get a quick view of the first country I had ever been in outside the United States (I didn't get to travel at all throughout my life). Automatically, the tone seemed different than the Los Angeles area I had been so accustomed to before I had turned. Arina was a costal city within Chile, almost completely surrounded by hills and mountains, leaving it to be a somewhat remote city. Despite its close proximity to the ocean, it's climate reflects drier, more desert, leaving it perfect for us to conduct our search in the more southern regions.

We left the terminal and soon, we were on the road, heading to our hotel room close by. The Cullens luckily have a network of people that allow them certain documents and abilities to ease their travel, and it was made prudent before our next planning stages that anyone who was within our coven have proper identification and passports should we finally reach the international level. While not necessarily true forgeries, as I was using the last true information I had, none of these came from any government sources and if suspicion were aroused, our documents wouldn't hold up for long. But so far, so good, we were able to make a quick departure from Washington and make it here without incident, which was lucky, as this was my first time around humans since I had killed Jeremy, and there was genuine fear I may not be able to control myself. While the human scent was of the utmost temptation, being near Jacob and his own scent had played a tremendous role in keeping my control, and I didn't compromise the group.

Dawn hadn't broken yet as we reached the Hotel Casa Beltran, but was fast approaching. Easily one of the fanciest hotels I've been in, we checked into our rooms. Between the total twelve people we had, we shared four separate rooms, because even though we didn't need the amenities, it would arouse suspicion if we all crammed into one room. Once we had our luggage brought in, and we appeared to settle down, I called everyone into my room. Outside the three Cullens, Micah, Bill, and Jacob, we had five other vampires with us: Cathy, Esteban, Allison, De'Shawn, and Glenn. They were chosen at random, but all looked equally willing to be of assistance and take my leadership. I only hope I don't fuck up.

"Alright, everyone," I began. "The two goals of are trip here are clear: make contact with Nahuel and his coven, convince them to join us; and intercept the Volturi before they reach Nahuel, learning of the next phase of their plan against us, and stopping their next proposed attack. Now, the first part is simple, but the second part is obviously the most dangerous, as either myself, or Edward, as the telepaths, will need close proximity to Caius in order to gain his information. Alice," I nodded at her, "will be our main lead in finding Nahuel, as she was the one who found them the first time. She will also keep her visions open for the arrival of Caius, using one of the lower members of the Volturi to keep her sight open. We will make for south and attempt to find the coven. As this doesn't require the entire group here, I'll ask Micah and Bill," I gestured towards them, "to stay with the rest of whomever I leave behind, and stay alert. I'll be simply taking the Cullens, Jacob, and...I'm sorry, I forgot you're name," I pointed at a very stern-looking African-American woman.

"De'Shawn," she calmly replied.

"Right, and De'Shawn, to complete our hopefully short expedition. After which, we will all meet up near the coven location and await for Caius and the others to arrive. I will then use my powers to subdue them all for the time needed and gain the needed information from them. Any questions?"

The long-haired Hispanic lady, Cathy, raised her hand and asked, "What would you have us do while we wait for you?"

"For the time being, until its dark again, I can't risk you being out in the open," I replied, "so unfortunately, you'll have to stay in the hotel. Afterwards, you're free to explore around, but remember, if you need to feed, seek out the nearby mountainous area without drawing attention to yourself. I'll send updates though Micah and Bill, including location, so if need be it, I'll have you stick close to us, probably within fifty miles. Anything else?" I asked the group.

"I do," Alice replied almost timidly. "I've been trying to center myself and keep my visions of the group going, but as our paths are still intertwined with Jacob's," she gave him an apologetic look, "I'm not gonna be able to use my same method to find Nahuel."

"Are you saying we have to leave Jacob behind?" I asked.

"Fuck that! I'm not staying behind, Jasican," Jacob cried out.

"Relax, I didn't say I would," I replied calmly.

"Well, I don't see an alternative," Alice replied. "I was only able to find Nahuel because he emitted his own blind spot, and in trying to look for him, it was almost pure luck to begin with that I found him."

"Well, what if you were to experience actually being a shifter?" Edward suggested to Alice.

"I doubt that it's that simple," I replied. "Unless you have a wicked bite, Jake." He just shook his head.

"No, that's not what I meant," Edward said. "I've been thinking about it since you first used your powers on Raymond. Since you have, essentially, the ability to meld your mind with other people..."

"I swear, the first one to give me a Vulcan reference..." I interrupted with great annoyance.

"I didn't say anything," Edward said with a smile.

"Yeah, but I bet you know who's thinking it," I finished.

"Anyways," Edward continued, "the point I'm trying to make is that if you're able to enter one person's mind, maybe you can accomplish two at the same time. Perhaps you can combine Jacob's thoughts of him both as a human and a shifter with Alice's mind, and that may give her enough insight to see shifters."

"Hmm," I said, "I guess it's worth a try, but in all honesty, I'm afraid that it might give me a mental overload, and plus, there's no guarantee that I could bridge the gap between Jacob's mind and Alice's mind while I was inside."

"You never know until you try, babe," Jacob replied.

I sighed and said, "Once again, I must remind you I'm going into uncharted territory, playing around with these powers. Then again, our paths place us on such a path, so it's nothing new. I really hope you both are up for this, because I have no idea how well this will work out."

"We all have faith in you, Jasican," Edward said. "I'll keep an eye out for your minds, and I'll yank you at the first sign of trouble."

I simply nodded and looked to Alice and Jacob, ushering them both forward and having them sit opposite of me. "If I fry your minds with this, don't say I didn't tell you so."

"Hey, the short memories I have as a human was of me in a mental institution," Alice said. "And as technology wasn't the best then, let's just say it wasn't just my mind that was fried. I'm sure I can handle this."

I didn't know whether to laugh or be completely horrified, so I decided to remain expressionless. I placed my right hand on the side of Jacob's head, while my left went onto Alice's. I closed my eyes and began to concentrate on now two minds. I could feel the normal pull my own mind would experience had I been seeking an individual mind, but now it seems to be splitting between the two, almost fighting to bridge the gap. It became a bit strenuous after a while, the closer I felt the connection come to completion, but after a few moments, I felt my mind extended to Jacob's and Alice's, and the connection was complete.

What happened next was completely different that entering a solo mind. As opposed to inhabiting an individual's memories as my own and acting them out, I seemed to have entered a nexus of combined memories, flashing past me with barely any time to comprehend. Some memories I recognized from Jacob, mostly his time with me from his perspective, then some from his past, before I knew him. One image showed a different setting, in front of an older, two-story house standing next to a gargantuan truck with the ugliest orange color I had seen. I then saw an short image of him speeding through the woods in wolf form, coming to bear on a vampire, a young one, whom had yet any experience, or control, and entirely dangerous. A similar setting afterwards, still within the woods, but now following a small girl, hunting with her, teaching her. Then the same girl, now older, with him in human form, leaning in for a kiss...

I pulled away from that memory and found some of Alice's, her first awakening after being turned into a vampire, her first vision of Jasper, their wedding. I tried to find where, or how I could make the sources of these two sets of memories to converge, but as I kept going deeper within the memories, I felt them become a bit more taxing on myself, as my own mind absorbed these memories. My concentration was slipping and and knew that I couldn't be here for much longer. More of Alice's memories slipped past, more recent ones, and the visions that accompanied them. Suddenly, the flashes became more instant, almost unreadable, moving faster and faster. I had no idea where to go, I thought to recall the memories I had just gained from Jacob's perspective, but I found some of my own thought processes were not working.

Then I had landed somewhere, if you could call it that. I was in a daze, near blind, but still able to make out basic features, Wherever I was, it was barren, completely barren. Drier than a desert, it was red everywhere and I could feel something caressing my skin, almost setting it on fire in the places it touched. I then dared to look up and what I saw was more terrifying than I could ever imagine: it was the Sun, but it wasn't bright yellow and far away, but it had inflated to a size unimaginable, dull red, and had consumed nearly the entire sky, if there even was one left. The gases had become more intense as the corona of the Sun was now coming to bear upon the Earth. Not even the burning of my vampire transformation could compare to the pain felt now as my body began to dissolve, the venom within me ignited, and within seconds, I was consumed, and with all my strength, I pulled out of the vision, out of both minds, and landed firmly back into present time in reality.

My head was screaming in pain, and I was very disoriented. About as dazed as I was in the vision, I could barely make out the concerned voices around me. After a moment, I returned near my normal state and I could hear myself trying to assure the others that I'm fine without much success.

"Jasican," Jacob had breathed, now kneeling close to me. "Jace, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I finally got to hear the words emit from my mouth. "Just give me a moment. I didn't expect to go in as deep as I did."

"What did you see?" he asked.

"A lot," I answered simply. "Alice?"

"Yeah," I heard her voice from my left. 

"Did you see anything? Did you feel Jacob's memories as your own?"

I finally sat up and looked to her as all pain was now subsided, "Not much. I saw bits and pieces, but it may be enough. Trying to see Jacob now is a bit more like seeing through a veil instead of a thick fog. It's incomplete, but at least there's something there."

"Excellent," I said with full meaning. "It should hopefully be enough to screen out your blind spot for Nahuel, otherwise, we'll be traveling within our own. Best be moving on, I supposed."

The rest of the group nodded and proceeded to exit my room, but I there was something I needed to figure out.

"Alice?" I called again. "A moment alone, if you would."

Everyone else had left and I was left with Alice sitting down. The disturbing vision still had reverberated in my head, and I couldn't shake it. "Is that what you see?"

She sighed and said, "You saw, didn't you?"

I nodded. She stood up and said, "Only Edward knows, since I wasn't able to keep it from him, but I doubted he would have told anyone. As far as the family was concerned, my first vision I received after I was turned was meeting Jasper. That wasn't exactly true, it was my first vampire vision, but I had the ability to see since my human life. I may not remember much of anything, but that one vision, that one horrifying sight, it's always stuck. And after I was turned. That same vision grew clearer."

"What is it?"

"I think it's the end," Alice said cautiously. "At first, I thought the whole Mayan thing had merit, but then that passed without incident, and then I came up with another theory,"

"And that is?"

"It's the distant future, and I mean, very distant," she replied. "I can't tell how long, but I've been reading into astronomy theories, and it seems like what I see won't happen for another several billion years, when the Sun is supposed to expand and consume the Earth."

"Billions?" I said in surprise. "You can see that far?"

"It's possible that any vampires that live that long will seek their end at that time," Alice said. "There was never a predetermined time that vampires cease to exist, so it is conceivable that it may be one vampire who has lived that long, or maybe a line that hasn't been developed yet. It's been my biggest mystery."

"And you've had to live with this?"

"I've found ways to suppress it, and I have gotten used to it, but you felt it yourself, the pain. That, I haven't been able to block, and it still scares the shit out of me every time it happens to slip through. And since you and Jacob have been with us, it seems to be the only thing I can see, with the rest of my visions blocked."

"Will this continue to affect your ability down the road?" I asked.

"With what you accomplished, it may help, but it still may occur," Alice replied. "I can see you and Jacob a bit now, so it'll help with seeing the rest of the coven, but since we've lost Jasper and Rosalie, my control hasn't exactly been the best. I'll do my best to keep it from hampering us here."

"I'd appreciate it," I responded, raising a hand to gesture Alice out of the room, where the rest of the group was waiting for us. Dawn was edging its way out now, so my portion is the group had to move fast to get out of the city limits before the Sun hits. 

We traveled south for a good portion of the morning, traversing near barren plains with hardly any greenery. Jacob had to be extra careful, being the only one that stood out, as wolves were not indigenous to this area, so each of us kept an extra eye out for any humans in off-road vehicles. While having to avoid a few here and there, as the area became more mountainous, we encountered little trouble. We also had to avoid the several valleys that crossed our way, as roads and towns were more prominent in those areas.

As we got further south, and the elevation grew, I was surprised to see there was patches of snow here and there. It wasn't large, maybe only a few inches in sporadic areas, but enough to signify that even during the Summer season here (it was just beginning to be Winter up north), it was still cold in the higher elevations. Vegetation was nearly nonexistent, save trees that were just as few and far apart as the snow was, leaving all of its grey rock exposed. As we continued climbing, the peaks of the mountains grew more jagged, leaving areas undesired by all humans except the thrill-seekers.

I'd look to Alice every so often, giving her a quizzical stare, to which the answer would always be a head shake. As noon passed, and we traveled a good distance from Arina, I grew confident that we were fast approaching areas of possible vampire inhabitation. My suspicions proved accurate when Alice's movements had slowed down. We stopped and I approached her, asking, "Are we close?"

"My visions have completely stopped again," she replied, "and the area is familiar, but it's not in the same place as the first time I found Nahuel. It's possible they may be on the move right now, of have relocated their home recently."

"Alright, let's keep looking," I said, pressing forward. However, the moment, I turned around, I was clobbered by a fast moving object. I rolled over as soon as I landed and sprang low into a crouching, defensive stance. The object that collided with me had also rolled just as fast onto its feet, signifying it's vampire origins. Before even a second had passed, the vampire, whom I had quickly identified as male, sprang forward at me again, only I was ready this time, and stretched a hand out, sending my mental prowess to bear upon him and right before he reached me again, I completed my mental domination, and made him stop.

The man in front of me looked to be abut in his forties, with dark brown skin and black hair, standing at about 5' 10", and possessing red eyes. I didn't bother to look any further before advancing on him, stretching a hand out in preparation to enter his mind. I was quickly interrupted by a new voice, "Stop!" ringing out a split-second before finding the source: another dark skinned man had appeared, flanked by two females. This male looked far younger, with longer black hair tied in a braid, and even I had to admit the beauty of him, even standing next to Jacob. His eyes, however, were brown, instead of the red, and his company shared similar eye color. 

The brown-eyed vampire sped up to me before approaching at human speed the last few yards. He stopped close and asked, "Who are you? And what did you do to Joham?"

"You mean him?" I pointed at the still dominated vampire. "I'm Jasican, and I have placed a mental hold on his mind. May I ask if you're name if Nahuel?"

His eyes narrows and he asked, "How do you know my name?"

"Nahuel!"

Reneesme sped up next to me and Nahuel, stopping just short of us, and said, "Hello there. You may not recognize me, but my name is Reneesme."


	24. Chapter 24

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jacob's Point of View_

 

"Renessme?" Nahuel asked in surprised. "Nessie? I don't believe it, you've grown so much, it seemed like only yesterday I first met you." He walked towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Then again, I'm one to talk. It's good to see you again."

"Hello, Nahuel," Edward greeted, walking to Reneesme's side.

"And who do we have here?" Nahuel smiled. "Edward? And Alice? I shouldn't be surprised you're here with them, though your face was a bit grimmer the last time I saw you here, gracing my presence."

"If only circumstances had grown more in our favor," Alice replied. "We've had much happen recently."

"Indeed," he said. "Here we are in our second meeting, and we're yet again meeting precedent. Though your company grows ever stranger." Nahuel looked around the rest of us, his eye falling last on me. "And a wolf too? Times have changed for you all."

I eyed him cautiously, ready for anything, but Jasican was ready to spring into diplomatic action. "I don't mean to disparage your reunion, but we are here for a purpose, and we really do need your help. Is there a place we can better talk?"

"Uhh, yeah," he responded, looking a bit confused. "How is it you're able to...?"

"I'll explain everything in a bit," Jasican said, waving his question off. "Until then, I'd like to keep this one right where I want to see him." He again made a gesture to the vampire whose mind he took.

Nahuel eyed him closely, but he nodded in reluctant agreement. He started to head off, with his two female companions, in the opposite direction and Jasican tilted his head to the rest of our company to follow. We only went half speed this time as before, but we found were were heading back downhill, into a valley that looked completely enclosed, no roads or tunnels leading to it. I had to assume this is where Nahuel and the rest of his coven lived, in complete human seclusion. It was odd for me, only because I had grown so fond of the Cullens being able to live amongst humans, for so many years. Living alone with just vampires for the last month didn't really damper that perspective, as there were times we just naturally stayed away from the humans for just that length of time every once in a while.

We arrived shortly to the flattest landing within the depression. Just after I see what appeared to be holes in the valley wall, Nahuel stopped us short and said, "I'm sorry, I can not allow you to proceed while this shifter is still in form. I insist you take on your normal form, as to not disturb the rest of my family," looking at me.

I gave him a look, the best annoyed look my wolf form could project, then I shifted back to human directly in front of him, not bothering to cover up my exposed self, and not rushing at all to put my temporary clothes on. As soon as I was done, I walked to Jasican's side and we continued to the gathering of tunnels close by, in human walking speed. Before long, we reached the closest on and entered inside. It didn't have too much in the way of light, as vampires wouldn't really have need for artificial light source, but as even in human form, I still have better senses than a human, I was able to adjust quickly and keep my pace with Jasican.

"This is one of our few rest areas we stop at when we wander," Nahuel said. "It's removed enough to keep us hidden, but close enough to keep us within hunting reach."

"Of?" I asked dryly, fearing I already knew the answer.

"If you're imploring that we should feed on anything but humans, you're greatly mistaken," Nahuel replied, appearing annoyed. "If you haven't noticed, we don't live in a very prosperous place filled with animals, like the Cullens do, and it's been difficult to convince the rest of my family to lead the transition."

"I don't find that an adequate excuse," I couldn't help myself from saying.

"Jake," Jasican shot at me with a warning tone. "Forgive us, but one of the reasons for our visit will require us to address that aspect."

"I sincerely hope you mean in a positive way, Mr. Jasican," the younger looking, brown haired girl said. "I doubt too many here would take too kind to the uses of your powers."

"It is not my intention to drive anyone here to my arguments by force," Jasican replied. "It would do us a great disservice if our goals were aimed as such, for we seek the opposite."

"That is too be determined," the older-looking black-haired woman responded. "I'm not too fond of Joham, but there are others here that are loyal to him, and wouldn't exactly like to abstain from a long-held life source."

I held my tongue to prevent me from scorning the vampires. Nahuel continued, gesturing towards the brown-haired girl, "Jennifer, my youngest sister, and Hiulen, my aunt, whom is full vampire," pointing at the older, brown-haired one. "Both stay with me the most, as I too am not fond of my father," now pointed at the still-dominated vampire, "but Joham insists on seeing me once in a great while, and you happened to catch him on one of his visits. He usually brings the rest of his family with him, and that tends to create some tension."

"Family?" Jasican repeated. "There are others like you?"

"You mean hybrids?" he asked. "Yes, my father took fancy to creating what he thought was a perfect race, so he impregnated many human woman. Most would die before childbirth, others shortly after. and the few that came to term are with him, mostly. He learned, well after I was born, that it was actually important to continue staying close to the ones you purposely create. Two very particular reasons why we never got close."

I shook off the horrifying image, and Jasican suppressed a look, signifying he may have done the same. Jasican pressed on, "But why would your father think he's creating a 'perfect race' by creating hybrids? I mean, from the sound of it, he abhors human life, but what does he believe vampires are inadequate of that would instigate this belief?"

"He thought himself as some form of scientist," Nahuel said. "It's the reason he was turned in the first place. His maker was intrigued by how much he would obsess over his theories. I'm really not sure what he thought he would accomplish, and I frankly don't care."

"I see," was all he said. 

We walked a bit further before we reached a small cavern. "We can talk here," Nahuel said, "but take care of what you say. Joham has tried to use my other siblings to get me to warm up to him, but my constant refusal has caused some feelings of apprehension, and I'd rather not start a fight."

Jasican nodded his head and began, "I am the leader of a coven set in the Northeastern United States, close to where the Cullens had their residence. I am told you were a participant in an incident that happened almost ten years ago when the Volturi had incurred on that region, with the intent to kill everyone their for a crime they did not commit. Our former leader, my maker, Godric, had a goal from that point on, in an effort to throw the Volturi off their throne of power, to unify the vampire race against them, and reveal our existence to the human race, once and for all."

Nahuel, Jennifer, and Hiulen all started wide-eyed at Jasican. An awkward silent moment had passed before Hiulen said, "What makes you think this madness would even begin to work?"

"The way we see it, we don't have a choice," Jasican replied. "Before Godric even had a chance to do anything against the Volturi, only with the gathering of vampires, did they see fit to act against us under word of a traitor in our midst. The Volturi had incurred once again, killing a couple dozen vampires, including my maker, right in front of my own eyes. And once we found the traitor and locked him up, the Volturi saw fit to launch another retaliatory attack, this time, against innocent humans. Over four thousand humans are dead, and many more still at risk from the fallout of the attack."

Nahuel shook his head and said, "This is too much. I knew the Volturi were capable of such acts, but to actually act on it, to senselessly kill? They are showing their might, they are showing they will go to whatever lengths to keep their power. They see you as so much of a threat, but yet you remain, and they will continue to come after you. What you propose is suicide!"

"Nahuel," Reneesme spoke up. "You and Huilen had seen fit to travel all the way to America to help protect me against the Volturi, with only the words of Jasper and Alice to ride on, and unknown odds of survival. The Volturi are finite, and if we succeed, we will eventually outnumber them, and prove a force greater than they can handle. We could finally put an end to their rule, their suppression. Jasican has already shown great leadership, he's even making peace with a shifter tribe close to our coven."

"And what of the rest of my family?" Nahuel asked. "I doubt there will be any selfless enough to think that such action will prove beneficial for our world. They'll only think for themselves, stuck to the ideals of a madman. They may even think the Volturi have the right idea."

"Well, then they may get the chance to confirm it," Jasican said grimly. "Alice, if you don't mind."

Alice turned to Nahuel and said, "The last I saw, the Volturi will be making their way to this area in an effort to search for you. It was a lower priority decision, and I could only see it through a younger vampire Guard member, but our best estimates put them in South America within a week."

The three Chilean vampires all looked at each other briefly before Nahuel asked, "Can you see why?"

"No," Alice replied. "They're really doing everything they can to block my visions. They even killed Jasper, just to keep me from seeing."

I was surprised Alice was able to say that and keep composure, but I could tell this news weighed heavily on Nahuel and Hiulen at the least, as both sighed and gave the Cullens a look of sympathy. Hiulen looked up again and said, "When we last saw the Volturi, ten years ago, we had warned them about Joham and his continued efforts to raise hybrids for his 'perfect race'. If they had thought maybe that he was enough of a threat to expose us, then maybe they're just here for him."

"It's possible, but not a theory I'd like for you to test," Jasican interjected. "I urge that you leave here now and join forces with us."

"But you said it yourself, the Volturi came after your coven in your territory," Nahuel said. "What's to stop them from coming again?"

Jasican pointed at Joham and said, "This is far from the only thing I can do. My powers literally had Aro in submission, but had I not lost my maker moments earlier, I could have averted a war before it began. They are using other methods, at the moment, to supersede our efforts, but our original goal remains: unification will once again bring us the strength we need to face the Volturi, should the need arise."

"And what of the wolf tribes there?" Hiulen asked. "Will they not react if you should bring more vampires within their proximity?"

"My mother and grandfather are working with us to ensure that we maintain an alliance with the Chimakun tribe," I said. "My tribe, however, the Quileutes, will not be as cooperative as before, but luckily, we are far enough removed that they will not pose a threat to us."

Nahuel sighed once again, then he said, "Well, Mr. Jasican, I guess either way, we're left without much choice. Either we side with you, or we wait for the Volturi and hold our own."

Before Nahuel had a chance to say anything else, three more blurs had materialized in front of us: two more women and another man. One woman stood slightly taller than Alice's height, with skin about as pale with brown hair, the other closer to Jasican's height, dark-skinned and very short hair. The sole male with them was a bit paler than Nahuel and Hiulen, but still had a fair bit of complexion, and also had brown hair, but long enough only to reach his eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?" the brown-haired woman shouted, with a heavy accent.

"What did you do to Joham?" the dark-skinned woman asked. "Nahuel, who are all these people?"

"Serena, Maysun, calm down, please," Nahuel replied, looking at each woman in turn. "It's okay."

"Okay?" the one called Serena said. "Look at him! What's wrong with his eyes? And why won't he respond? Joham!" she shouted at him.

"He is under my control," Jasican stated boldly. "He happened to come after us while searching for Nahuel, and I subdued him, but he is by no means being harmed."

"And just who the hell are you?" the male spoke up, also with a heavy accent, but different then Serena's.

"Jasican, and I mean none of you harm," he said sternly. "I'll release him, but know if he tries to attack me again, I will take his mind once more. Got it?"

When the newcomers only gave him severe looks only, Jasican waved his hand forward to guide Joham in front of them, and turned to face us. Jasican raised a hand towards him and spread his fingers out, then Joham's eyes returned from all-black to white with red irises. He looked around and was instantly confused.

"I'm afraid we got off on the wrong foot, sir," Jasican spoke to Joham. "I wish to avoid that in the future. My name is Jasican, could you please tell me why you attacked me."

Joham finally looked at Jasican, and glared at him. "What right do you think you have speaking to me like that?" he said in a deep voice. "And how the hell did I get back here?"

"I had taken you mind," Jasican replied impatiently, "and brought you back here, in hopes to quell your mood and talk to your family. I hope that you'll be able to see my proposal and accept it."

"I don't want anything from you, or the rest of your shit-smelling fucks!" Joham shouted. "Get off my land!"

"Joham, esta não é a sua terra! (Joham, this is not your land!)" Nahuel shouted. "Estes são os meus convidados, e você vai tratá-los como tal aqui. (These are my guests, and you will treat them as such here.)"

"Naheul, entender que eu só queria te ver e minha família segura (Naheul, understand that I only wish to see you and my family safe)," Joham said. "Os vampiros eu segurar nenhuma desavença com, mas o câmbio tem que ir. Eu não quero a sua escumalha aqui. (The vampires I hold no quarrel with, but the shifter has to go. I don't want his scum here.)"

"Este shifter é nosso amigo, nosso companheiro (This shifter is our friend, our comrade)," Edward interjected, much to everyone's surprise.

"And here I was wishing that Zoe was here," Jasican muttered. "Why did I forget you spoke Portuguese." Jasican looked back to Joham and continued, "In any event, I'm hoping that whatever differences we have, we can work together."

Joham gave Jasican a nasty look and said, "Now, I have no problem with the other vamps, but I ain't talking to you. You've got bad news written all over you."

"Oh," Jasican replied, raising an eyebrow, "and what sets me apart in your eyes from the rest of my companions."

"Your scent for one!" Joham shouted back. "I never thought if smell someone like you ever again in my life."

"And what does my scent have anything to do with this?" Jasican asked, confused. 

Joham started laughing, and said, "Your senses that dull, boy? You haven't been able to pick up on it yet? I'm shocked, I thought you would have been taught better."

Jasican shows nothing outward to this, but like him, I once again sniffed the air. I caught Joham's scent and my eyes widened as I immediately knew.

"Why do you smell so familiar, Joham?" Jasican asked sternly.

"Still not putting two and two together?" Joham had an almost wild smile on him now. "You smell just like him."

"Smell like who?!"

"Godric."


	25. Chapter 25

__Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_ _

_Jasican's Point of View_

 

I couldn't explain it, but all of a sudden, my anger had soared and in an instant, I had Joham by the throat pinned up against the wall. I vaguely heard noises behind me, presumably my vampires and Jacob moving to defend me against the others, but I didn't exactly care. "HOW DO YOU KNOW GODRIC?!" I spat at him.

"Taking me by the throat won't get me to talk, boy," Joham sneered at me, almost surprising me on how calm he was.

"Answer me!" I shouted, "Or I swear I'll yank every single memory out of your head!"

Joham laughed at me before I found myself flying backwards, smashing into the rock wall behind. After half a second to compose myself, I launched myself again at Joham, this time, pinning him by his chest and I raised my other hand to face-level, feeling my body begin to vibrate and shake in respond.

"I'll ask again," I said through grit teeth. "And know that I'm not one to pass around random bluffs."

"Do you really know anything, boy?" Joham asked condescendingly. "Couldn't it even cross your mind once that maybe you'd come across another progeny of Godric?"

"LIAR!" I exclaimed. "Godric would never create a piece of shit like you!"

"And yet he did," Joham laughed again. "Believe me, I'm not as thrilled as this fact as you are, but the truth remains."

"Jasican," I heard Jacob say behind me, "I hate to tell you how to do your job, but this is one of the things you said you would not do as coven leader."

I stood for a moment before I withdrew my hand and slowly backed away. As much as I wanted to continue otherwise, Jacob was right, and with tremendous effort, I suppressed my anger for the time being.

Nahuel walked up next to me and spoke to Joham, "You told us all that you were created by a female vampire."

"A small change in story," Joham responded. "After he released me, I saw it fit not to ever bring up my vampire father again...that is, until you showed up," he gestured at me. 

"I haven't exactly heard the best stories about you," I shot back. "You'll forgive me if I'm at a loss of why Godric would even bother with someone like you."

"And how well do _you_ know him?" Joham jeered. "You still show signs of being a newborn, I highly doubt Godric had divulged all the details of his past life. He was a very different person not but five hundred years ago."

I narrowed my eyes at him. I wasn't sure what to believe from this freak of nature, but there was no denying his scent. His smell nearly mirrored Godric's similar to how mine presumably was. Several thoughts crossed my mind, one of which was itching at my head the most. I could easily take every mind here to prevent me from yanking all the answers I want, but as much as I wanted to, it wouldn't be the right thing to do, and could very well prevent the rest of the vampires and hybrids here from joining me.

"It won't do you any good to try and get anything out of me," Joham simply said. "We share the same blood, and I am far older than you. I could easily overpower you."

"And yet I was able to take your mind," I answered back. "And I can do far more, do not test me. My duty as coven leader is the only thing preventing me from invading your mind to the fullest. And besides, I'm not here for your help. The way I hear it, you aren't exactly the most friendly of vampires to humans, and that isn't what I'm looking for."

I turned back to Nahuel and said, "I apologize. Although my coven saw fit to see me leader, I'm still learning control."

"You won't see me complain," he replied. "I honestly thought the Volturi would have investigated him and seen him executed, but I guess they weren't quite in the mood of sticking their nose in anyone's business for a little while, after the scare we gave them."

Joham glared at us both, but said nothing. I then looked around at the rest of Nahuel's family as the realization came to me: Godric had created both me and Joham, making us vampire brothers. That thought alone was disturbing, knowing I shared the same vampire blood as this freak, but then I looked to the others and knew that I also shared blood with Nahuel and his siblings, making them my half-nephews and -nieces at the least. I was looking at a whole new vampire family before me, and quite honestly, I didn't know what to think at this point.

I noticed that one of the hybrids was missing, the male with brown hair. "Wasn't there someone else with you two?" I pointed at Serena and Maysun.

They both looked to where they thought he was standing, then the dark-skinned one, presumably Maysun, called out, "Nikolai?" 

No response. Everyone had looked around and not a one found this Nikolai. I raised an arm and stretched out my senses, hoping to find his mind. I found one, speeding away from us fast, still underground, so he hadn't gotten too far ahead. "I sense one person, heading," I turned to my right, "in that direction, close enough to be your missing brother. He's speeding away fast though."

"Perhaps you scared him off?" Jacob asked.

"Not a chance," Joham spoke proudly. "Nikolai is a fine man, I was proud to create him."

"Create him?" I asked. "You mean help birthed him."

"Not this one," Joham simply replied. "I had the immense fortune of encountering him in Ukraine, and he already had some well desired traits. I decided to mirror Godric's sentiment, if only for a moment, and create him based on how well he would do as a vampire. He hasn't disappointed me once yet."

"Then where is he going?" I demanded, trying to ignore Joham's comment towards Godric.

"Jasican!" Alice suddenly shouted. "He's right about Nikolai, I can see him now."

"Where?!" I turned to face her, ignoring Joham's protests. 

"He's keeping his mind blank, but its not perfect," Alice replied. "The bits I can see have him heading to a small town to the east."

"The Volturi?" Jacob asked.

"Close," Edward replied for Alice, presumably reading her mind, "a loyalist group, locally stationed here. I doubt they know of our presence yet, but this Nikolai could."

"That's all I need to know. Jake!" I shouted, and in an instant, Jacob shifted into his wolf form, nearly taking up the width of the tunnel we were in. "Edward, stay with Nahuel. If shit goes down, call the others for backup. We'll try to stop him."

Edward nodded as I mounted Jacob's back and we sped down the cave, toward the direction I had earlier specified. I kept my senses open and pinged Nikolai's mind every few seconds, keeping us in his general direction. After weaving in and out through the tunnels and caverns for a few moments, Jacob and I emerged from out of the mountain and headed downhill into the valley. Miles ahead, I could still feel the rouge vampire's presence, just as distant as before. Whoever he was, he was fast, perhaps as fast as Jacob, which worried me that I may lose him to the loyalists. Such act would prove disastrous for not only our mission, but to the coven's goals, as the Volturi would surely act fast to impede on our progress, should they learn we're still recruiting. 

Jacob pushed himself to full speed and I was relieved to find us gaining ground. However, as soon as he did that, my mind sensed a large group of mental pings directly in front of Nikolai, and we would be upon them in seconds if we didn't stop. Without so much as a thought, I suddenly found myself racing on four legs and I dug in hard, hoping to stop myself fast. As fast as I discovered I was on four legs, I suddenly found myself back with two legs flying into a nearby rise in the ground. As soon as I knew what happened, I looked over and found Jacob shifted back to human form, jogging towards me.

"Sorry, I didn't plan that," I muttered, and suddenly aware again of why we stopped, I motioned for Jacob and whispered for him to go "Down!", to which he complied. "As I was tracking our friend here, I suddenly sensed more than I should have. There's a large gathering of life just ahead."

"Life?" Jacob repeated. "Not vampires?"

I expanded my senses once more and replied, "It's not just them, it's both vampires...and humans. They're close, very close together, but I don't hear screaming, nor smell of blood."

"Perhaps they're human-friendly," Jacob guessed. "It's not too much of a stretch that the coven are the only ones."

"Maybe, but from this guy's roots, I'm willing to bet there's more going on here," I concluded. "We need to get inside, but the conventional way would immediately give us away. We have to get in there and discover what kind of relationship they have together."

I looked over the rise, then continued, "From everything I've seen, there are vampires placed in strategic points in that town ahead, meaning that they're not here for a simple visit. They want to keep people out, away from whatever meeting they all are having right now."

"Pity they didn't send us an invite," Jacob said sarcastically, before looking at me and finishing with, "We'll just have to make our own."

I smiled briefly before I said, "Get out there and run interference with whomever I don't get. Try to do this as quiet-like as possible."

Jacob nodded and about the same time, he shifted back to wolf form as I stood up and spread my arms outward and outstretched, allowing me the maximum coverage of my powers, and without any warning, I took the minds of all the beings on the perimeter of the town, and anyone close to their visual range. This is where I had to be careful, as I had only tested the distance of my mental powers, but I had never tested the capacity of whom I could dominate. With all the combined life I sensed here, there were probably sixty-three beings total, with less than half being human. I didn't think this was a simple bait-and-snatch of potential human game, seeing as all the minds I touched seemed calm in movement.

Within a few moments, I had most of the outer population under my control, or, at least, their senses, as I had encroached enough of their mind only to blind them. With Jacob making a circle around the town, he snorted once and nodded his head at me, signifying the area was clear. We reduced our speed to half as we skirted past the first set of vampire guards, but my puzzlement grew as I found there were humans close to the guards along the outer edge. I inched closer as the remaining population was gathered close, in the heart of town, almost surrounding the innermost beings, so I held the hope that perhaps they were all too busy with their activity to be listening for noise.

As soon as I turned to listen, I immediately began to hear voices, almost as loud as thought they were standing right next to me. "Strange vamps, their leader had my father in some form of control," said a distinct Eastern European accent. "Took off when they were scuffling, shouldn't have followed me."

"E 'troppo pericoloso per le vostre disavventure, Nikolai (It's too dangerous for your mishaps, Nikolai), said a male Italian voice, to be translated within a moment to English.

"Relax, Prime Minister," said another voice, possibly Portuguese, by the accent, "We know your safety takes great priority when you grace us with your presence, and our guard will keep that promise fulfilled in compliance with your own."

"Did he just say 'Prime Minister'?" I mouthed to Jacob. When I only received a puzzled look, I turned back to listen.

"Enough of the pleasantries," growled a deeper Portuguese voice rang out. "We grow tired of entertaining the human pawns of the Volturi. Haven't we done enough to warrant their gracious presence, and submit to their cause? I demand we'd be given the chance to speak to Lord Aro in person!"

"Signori, per favore, avrai la tua occasione al più presto (Gentlemen, please, you'll get your chance soon), the voice of the Italian Prime Minister rang out again, quickly translated. "In effetti, ho con me un ospite speciale con me oggi che dovrebbe calare ... l'appetito (In fact, I have with me a special guest with me today that should...wane your appetite)."

I dared to inch closer, and I could see the gathering of humans and vampires as viewed by my senses. While from this distance, I couldn't yet tell vampire from human, as most of their eyes were obscured and the sun wasn't placed right to betray their presence. Everyone, however, was standing in what looked to be a small courtyard, or gathering area perhaps meant for this town. I could see in the center an aging man with Mediterranean complexion sitting down with a tall, dark-clad figure next to him, presumably the Prime Minister and his translator. Sitting across from them were two other people, I assumed were the loyalists to the Volturi, and thus vampire. While not dressed dark like their Italian counterparts, it was still strange enough to warrant attention. But what caught my eye was a fifth figure whom just stood up to meet with the Prime Minister.

He was hooded, unlike the other, which completely obscured his face. I tried hard to focus my eyes on his to see who he was, to no avail. He walked up to the Prime Minister and stood by his side as the Minister stood up himself. "Gentleman, vi presento un membro della più alta guardia dei Volturi, il Demetri (Gentleman, I present to you a member of the Volturi's highest Guard, Demetri)," he said, translated. 

I heard a sharp intake of breath from Jacob as the hooded man, Demetri, now revealed himself, and said in a calm and formal tone, "Greetings, my fellow vampires and associates. While I am immensely interested to begin out new...relationship, unfortunately, we've had a few unexpected guests recently join us, whom have probably heard everything that we have talked about," and suddenly, his eyes turned directly to our direction. 


	26. Chapter 26

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

_Jasican's Point of View_

With the fear of discovery quickly sinking in, I knew I had to move fast, as I only had seconds. With Jacob next to me, still shifted, I quickly commanded him through mental message to run as I began to emerge from my hiding spot towards Demetri. Jacob motioned to follow me, but I told him to stay back and hold off anyone who may impede our progress or try to escape.

In the next couple of seconds, now fully exposed to the crowd gathered here, I put all my remaining mental strength into taking over each and every single mind here. I found that to be easier said than done, as after I encompassed all the minds present, with the exception of Demetri, my mind was exceeding its limit, and I found a few minds from the outer perimeter of the town to slip through my control. Three more seconds passed, Demetri was now eyes locked on me and proceeding at speed towards me. I struggled to keep my hold on everyone, but quickly found it more taxing than I could imagine, and I could feel my reactions slow.

Case and point when Demetri finally reached me, I managed to block one of his punches, but couldn't see the other aimed straight for my chest, and I went flying backwards. Within a second, I found myself surrounded by crumbling mortar and stone, from the wall of a nearby house. My control further slipped and another vampire, Nikolai, had escaped from my domination.

"So, you're the one who's been causing us all this trouble," Demetri said to me in a rather charming voice. He walked up to me and I made another attempt to defend myself, but proved futile as he easily blocked me at snatched me by the throat while my mental capacity continued to diminish. "You'll find it quite useless to resist me," he continued, raising me off the ground as easily as lifting a feather. "I can assure you, after your little stunt back at Washington, my master has seen it fit to prepare us in case you decide you use your little trick on us."

"You'll also find I'm full of surprises," I grunted out, and sacrificing my connection with just the humans only, I found enough strength to strike him inside his arm, causing it to bend down. As I came down, I head butted him hard, causing a crack to form on his forehead, and enough to cause him to release his grip on me and stager backwards. With much more of my mind freed now, I quickly sent off a warning to Jacob, telling him to watch for Nikolai and the remaining humans. Before barely another second had passed, Demetri had once again risen.

I was prepared this time as he came for me, adequately blocking and dodging his first wave of attacks. The humans around us, now aware of their impending threat, started to show signs of fear, and while keeping Demetri at bay, I sent some of the vampires I still had under my control to surround them. I had to time each of my actions precisely, as Demetri was already insanely powerful, and I was trying to keep control while fighting this beast of a fighter. As I was capable of defending myself, it was only just, as I knew with age and experience, Demetri had a distinct one-on-one advantage over me without powers, something I needed to change soon in order to survive.

Hoping against hope that Jacob had managed to round up anyone who may escape and give us away, I tried to get closer to Demetri, in an effort to gain access to his mind. I shoved all question of his premature arrival out of my head, as I needed every ounce of concentration. Again, I found the action to be quite the feat, as he gave me no ground to work with. The grace of his skill and the power behind each strike easily made the time I spend training laughable.

_Jacob's Point of View (Moments earlier)_

Fear gripped my heart at the realization we had now been discovered, Jasican facing me and mirroring my emotions. He didn't move his lips, but I heard him loud and clear when he shouted RUN!and sprang forward. Still shifted, I was about to follow him, but he send me another message, desperation in his voice (for lack of better phrase), saying No, don't! Get the stragglers and keep them from escaping! Don't kill anyone if you can help it.

Knowing we probably had little time, I complied, but not without stealing one more glance at Jasican. He was vibrating intensely, and I knew he was going to try to dominate the rest of the vampires and humans while going after Demetri. Concern washed over me as I thought about how many people he could keep under his control, and for how long. With such a large amount here, I doubt Jasican could keep them for long, so I had to be fast. I rocketed out of the town within a moment, and already, I could see a few of the vampires that Jasican had previously dominated were now aware of my presence.

Within a second, I leaped forward and rammed into the closest offending vampire. Whomever the were, whether they were local or from Italy, they were not well trained and it looked as though they were relying on pure instinct to fight. I managed to ground the three almost instantly, and proved to be no challenge. I was relieved to find their eyes reverted back to the blackness that would signify Jasican's control over them.

Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived. Jake, my control is slipping, I need everything I can to get Demetri. The humans are loose, watch for Nikolai! While my first instinct was to get back to Jasican, I knew that allowing anyone here to escape would me our discovery. I placed all of my faith on Jasican's strength and ability and continued my search for any vampire stragglers.

Within moments, I found Nikolai rushing out the other end of the town and I went full speed after him. I quickly found the elements were working against us as we attempted to complete our mission, with the unexpected gathering and Demetri here way sooner than we expected, not to mention whomever Jasican isn't able to control would either try to fight him also, or escape. With Nikolai already faster than most vampires I've encountered, catching him would take more time than I can afford, time I need to deflect any other vampires that may escape.

Within minutes, I was able to bridge the gap between the two of us, and tackle Nikolai to the ground. Before I managed to pin him down, he snaked through me and continued running. Frustration was now beginning to set in as I found this vampire extremely irritating, but also a slight panic ensued, the more miles I travel to catch this asshole. Two more times I had knocked him down, but just as quickly, he would get back up and continue chase, muttering a curse, or something, at me in either English or his native tongue.

At long last, I was able to knock him down with my head and grasp his leg with my mouth. Acting quickly, I bit down and severed his leg at the knee, ensuring that he wouldn't be moving again soon. He gave off a particularly loud yell as he now came crashing down with no ample way of getting back up. He now looked at me in extreme fear.

"AGH!!!" he shouted once more. "What is your fucking problem?! Why do you want me so bad?!"

I shifted back into human form and removed Nikolai's leg from my mouth, grasping it firmly with no intention of letting him reattach it anytime soon. "Look, I'm not going to kill you, but I also can't have you running away and giving the Volturi what they need to launch another attack against the human population."

I started walking backwards, saying, "I'm gonna keep this as collateral, in case I'm not back in time," I raised his still severed calf up. "Just stay put and I'll consider giving this back to you later."

I replaced his leg in my mouth and shifted, rocketing forward with Nikolai shouting at the top of his lungs, "COME BACK, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" as I made my way back to the town.

I kept my ears (or rather my mind) open for any other messages Jasican may be sending my way, hoping for one that would signify victory, but none had arrived, and I redoubled my efforts to rejoin him in battle.

_Jasican's Point of View_

It seemed as though the whole town would crumble at the weight of our battle, but neither of us relented. Had I not have half my mental capacity occupied with suppressing the rest of the temporary inhabitants here, entering a position to invade and search Demetri's mind would have gone a whole lot faster. Five minutes had passed at this point, with Jacob hopefully able to catch Nikolai from escaping, and any other people that may try to fight or flight.

I could tell that Demetri was toying with me, not even making any true effort to damage or dismember me. He knew he could end me, a reality I had hoped dearly wouldn't come to pass. It seemed like no matter how much effort I had placed into getting close, Demetri would easily be able to deflect it. As much as I wanted to release everyone to deal with him, the risks were too great, but I found my prospect of living while still fighting Demetri to be equally, if not greatly more dismal.

"You're fighting a fool's battle, Mr. Allicus," Demetri paused to speak. "You cannot hope to defeat us all by yourself."

"I'll do whatever it takes to cause as much damage as I can," I quickly retorted. "My life is sacrifice if it means advancing my goals, and to see you all brought down."

Demetri let off a laugh, "Aro was right, you are as delusional as he says you are."

"Look around you!" I shouted, hoping to buy any more time before Demetri decided to kill me. "I may not be the strongest against you, but I have the rest of your group, and your precious loyalists, under my control."

His eyes grew almost bored, with a condescending tone to boot, "Those humans and vermin you speak of? They are of no consequence to me. Pawns, for all they're worth, and nothing more."

I began to retract more of my control as I realized quickly what would happen. He continued, "The locals here: aren't even worth the Volturi's time and effort to recruit. They would offer nothing of value and have the grandest of delusion if they think they would join us. The humans? The Prime Minister may have the illusion that he has some form of importance within the Volturi as his country's representative, but once his purpose is fulfilled, he will also be disposed of."

"Really?" I said, keeping my composure. "I'd like for you to say that to their faces and watch how much support you really have."

"A touching proposition, one that may clear my conscious of this rather rampant wrongdoing you're insinuating, but I have much better things to do, and I've already wasted enough time dealing with you and my ill-equipped hosts."

When I was confident that his entire entourage had heard his remarks, I fully retracted the last sliver of my control over the remaining vampires, save the ones I could clearly mark as Volturi. I could see the Italian Prime Minister's face contour with anger as he broke through the crowd to face Demetri, already jabbering away in Italian, to which Demetri turned a deaf ear to.

"Now look what you've done," he said with false sorrow. "I have yet another mess to clean up," and without warning, he turned around and launched forward, poised to strike the Prime Minister. With the few Volturi vampires still under my control, I moved them up, creating a barrier between Demetri and the Prime Minister nanoseconds before he was able to strike.

Demetri now turned back to me, anger now displayed on his face, and said, "That was a bad move, Allicus. I'm through playing now!" And from one second to the next, I found myself pinned to the ground, hard. His hand wrapped once again around my throat, squeezing hard, and I could feel my flesh below his fingers crack and split apart. I tried to pry his hand off in vain, knowing he would be too powerful to break off. My free hand had also been pinned down, averting any attempt to enter his mind. My mind was running through a million thoughts at once, anything I could find that would ensure my survival. I tried once to dominate his mind, but found the pain inflicted on me was too great, and my mind wouldn't perform the way it should have.

"You should have never come here, young one," Demetri said through grit teeth. "Even if you had managed to escape, it would have only been a matter of time before I found you again. I'm not regarded as the best tracker of the Volturi for nothing, after all."

Shit, as if the situation wasn't grim enough already. I grunted and struggled, but there was nothing I could do to prevent him from killing me. Out the corner of my eye, I looked to see something emerging from around a nearby building. Focusing on it, I realized it was Jacob, still in wolf form. Wide-eyed, I now panicked, knowing that should I not survive here, and Demetri locks on to him, Jacob would fall as easily to Demetri's tracking abilities.

Suddenly, I felt something odd happening to my right hand, the one Demetri had pinned to prevent me from resisting. I couldn't describe it, it was like a tingling sensation. But then, I saw the air move around the palm of my hand. Growing more and more intense, I could see something streaking within the confines of my hand as the seconds progressed. One last second passed, and I realized what was about to happen. I muttered one last "Ah, fuck" before my entire surroundings blurred and darkened, and I flew somewhere into the unknown.


	27. Chapter 27

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

_Jasican's Point of View_

I screamed loudly in pain as I grasped my right hand. I hadn't looked at it yet, as I had only just landed, Demetri presumably not too far away, but it had felt like a bomb, or a grenade had exploded. With everything happening faster than I could presently process at the moment, I had no idea how far I flew, or how much damage I had just caused. But more importantly, how the hell I was just able to do what I did.

I managed to roll onto my knees, vaguely aware of the amount of debris that coated me. While I knew, had I blasted anything off, I would be able to reintegrate it into my body, I didn't like the prospect of missing limbs for any length of time, especially, given the situation. Thankfully, as I examined my hand, it was still intact, but my palm had what I could closely describe as a crack, running all the way through. The cut was wide open with my blood, or venom, smeared around it and visible within, but as I had no beating heart, it was not flowing out.

I suddenly remembered Jacob and in a flash, I was standing upright, knocking off the remainder of the debris off my body. I only had time to get a quick glance at the area where I last saw him stand, the opening caved in and most of the building collapsed, before I caught Demetri out of my peripheral, rising fast and launching forward for another attack towards me.

Without missing a beat, I dodged him with a spinning jump. I felt myself reinvigorated after handling so many minds at once, but still taking care to keep the Volturi one's under my control. I once again found myself immersed in hope, thinking that after hearing Demetri's well-expressed dismissal of their importance, that I wouldn't have a need to worry about keeping them secure. Within seconds, the crack on my hand was resealed and I turned to face Demetri again. Words now seemed to fail him as he realized, as did I, that whatever had just happened to me, would most likely happen again, and I posed more of a threat to him as it seemed my power grew once more.

Demetri raced forward again, and I raised my hand directly towards him. I had no idea how I was going to duplicate what I had just done, or how much damage it would cause to myself. I attempted to replicate the desperation I was feeling, and found it didn't veer too far off the mark of what I was feeling now, and I could see the energy forming once more in front of my palm. I focused on the sensation, similar to my pervious powers, only this time, manifesting it into a physical feeling through my arm and pushing outward. At the same time I did that, I saw another hurl of near-transparent energy fly from my hand in a narrow, stretched, semi-spherical form aimed directly for Demetri.

The result was almost immediate: the energy hurl moved faster than Demetri could dodge and he flew fast and hard into the nearest building opposite of him, seeing both him and the energy cause the building to crumble around him. Taking the chance now presented to me, I raced forward with all speed to meet him while Demetri was still grounded. He was thankfully still lying on the floor, but quickly recovering, so I took the opportunity to punch him hard in the face in order to redouble my efforts to keep him down. I straddled him at his mid-section and firmly placed both my hands on his head. Before I knew it, the familiar feeling overcame me and I went in.

_Jacob's Point of View_

Dazed and confused, I found myself on my back and covered in wood and stone. A sharp pain emanated from my left side and I shifted back to human form to observe. As soon as I did that, I found a large, jagged piece of wood landing with a thud next to me, the tip coated with my blood, but it was only in about two inches, meaning in human form, whatever injury I sustained would be smaller and take less time to heal.

I picked myself off the floor and massaged my side, not caring about getting blood on my hands, and looked around at the fresh destruction. Moments earlier, I had found Jasican in trouble, with Demetri pinning him down by the throat and restraining him thoroughly. Before I had time to react, however, something like a bomb, or similar explosion, coming out of Jasican's hand and I found myself flying backwards. I wasn't sure what was happening now, as I was cut off from him until I found an opening and made my way outside. A quick search revealed an unblocked window a few rooms down, and without hesitation, I kicked the glass out, mostly by the center frame to reduce injury, and jumped out.

Not even a minute passed as I was making my way back to the town center when another explosion occurred about twenty yards to my left. Knowing it was Jasican, I hauled ass to meet up with him. I found a nearby wall blasted from either one of the explosions, and used it to arrive back near our original starting spot before hell broke loose. I glanced quickly at the gathering of humans and their vampire guard, looking upon the newfound destruction, which I went in head first without a second thought.

I was granted a huge surge of relief as I found Jasican melding with Demetri, having him under his complete control. I looked down at my side to see my wound now sealed, but still a few minutes away from becoming fully healed. Before I had time to ponder, I caught the scent of other vampires converging on us, and I walked around to see who it was, cautious enough to shift again at a moment's noticed.

I decided to attempt communication before showing aggression, "I should warn you, there are two incredibly powerful vampires that I suggest you do not piss off."

More humans and vampires started to walk towards me, and I found my hope of holding them off while Jasican finished to be fading fast. Half of them were speaking languages I clearly didn't understand, and the few that did speak English, did not indicate they wanted a peaceful resolution.

"Shit," I muttered to myself, and without another word, I shifted back into wolf form. I braced myself to fight to the bitter end to protect Jasican, but suddenly, before anyone had a chance to move, I saw streaks moving around the group of loyalists. I was relieved to see it was the three Cullens, and the rest of the group brought with us, including the backup Jasican intentionally left behind, along with Nahuel and his siblings. All moved into a near circle formation surrounding the loyalists.

 _Edward!_ , I telepathically called out to him. _What the hell took you so long?_

"It took a bit of convincing to gather Nahuel's more reluctant siblings," Edward replied. He turned to the loyalist and said, "It would be wise if you stayed put. I know half of you are humans, and our leader is capable of powers you can't imagine to deal with the rest. You can be assured that we'll send you on your merry way after Jasican deals with Demetri."

 _Speaking of which, why didn't we know about his arrival until two seconds before he attacked us?_ I asked in annoyance.

"Alice deduced that while her vision was correct, she didn't foresee Demetri already here," Edward replied. "Caius is still coming for Nahuel, and he was going to meet Demetri here. This Samuel guy had no knowledge of that."

 _I swear, the shit we have to go through..._ I trailed off as I went back into the ruined building without fear to check on Jasican, now convinced the loyalists are unable, but probably more unwilling, to attack. In fact, the prime guy, minister, or whatever, held a look of disgust on his face. Im sure Jasican would explain later.

I shifted back to human form as I approached Jasican. I could see his lips moving at breakneck speeds, learning to keep mostly silent when melding with another person, as he ripped the secrets out of Demetri's head. I grew a bit concerned he was taking longer than necessary, but after a few more moments, he relented, and released his hold on Demetri's head, and closing his eyes.

"Please tell me you got something," I asked anxiously.

He nodded his head, "It's still not the whole picture, but it'll be enough. Needless to say, we have much work to do in the coming months."

"Another road trip?"

"Of a sorts," he replied, now opening his eyes. "Is the situation under control?"

"For now, but I can tell the loyalists are getting restless out there," I said.

"Yeah, well, after hearing about their leader's apparent apathy towards them," Jasican stood up, "I don't think they're too inclined to help him too much anymore."

He stepped over his body and continued, "We need to work quick. Demetri is still under my control, but I have to speak to they loyalists and ensure our secrecy is maintained."

"Do you think they'll listen?" I asked with skepticism.

"I'm hoping so," he simply said.

Jasican walked outside and I quickly followed. He didn't go too far before calling out, "Prime Minister! Please come forward. I need to cover a few things with you."

For a moment, no one moved. Then he emerged from the crowd to face Jasican, and with a heavy accent, he replied, "Yes?"

"I do not know the role you play in the Volturi, nor do I care," Jasican began. "My goals are simply to bring vampires together and protect humans. If these are your interests, then we don't have a problem. If not, then I suggest you reconsider. I'm not one to make threats, but you have seen what I and my companions are capable of, and I'd hate to see any of this brought to Aro's attention, lest he place his anger on you. My request is to carry on like out arrival didn't happen, and never speak of us again."

"Do you really think you can get away with this?" the Prime Minister replied. "Or any of us?! You know his power, and you dare challenge it? You are incredibly stupid! And what about him?!" he pointed to the ruined house where Demetri still was. "How is he not going to remember any of this?"

"I have powers that center around total control of the mind," Jasican responded. "And as such, I believe I may have modified his memory to exclude the encounter with myself entirely. It wasn't easy, given I had never done this before, but as I had recently experimented with a similar concept, I'm confident I have at least suppressed, or eliminated those memories. You should be safe."

"Your speech is filled with 'maybes' and 'perhaps'," he retorted. "That does not guarantee our safety--."

"Your 'safety' was forfeit when you decided to deal with the Volturi," Jasican cut him off. "As I said, your reason for involving yourself with them are irrelevant, as I can imagine they aren't the best of intent. However, should you not take this road, and Demetri should relearn what has happened here, you are going to find yourself a very dead man regardless, and I shouldn't like to think what would happen once word reaches the world on what the Italian Prime Minister was doing in a remote, abandoned town in northern Chile, torn to pieces, without so much as a viable explanation."

Before the Prime Minister could react, Jasican finished with, "I believe you are an intelligent man, Prime Minister, I really do, so I suggest you take this olive branch and trust me. I'd hate to see any of you dead, as we deal with the preservation of life, not death."

"It appears, then, I have little choice," the Prime Minister reluctantly responded. "Do what you need, but know that you can't keep this up forever. I know not your previous encounters with the Volturi, but know they touch more places than you think. And let's just say Volterra is becoming a bit more cramped these days. That's all I have to say."

Jasican simply nodded his head and gestured forward, back to their original sitting arrangement before we arrived here. It took a little while as most of the native vampires and the Italian entourage looked apprehensive at best on being out of control of the situation. While Jasican coordinated the reset, for lack of better phrase, Edward and I, along with the rest of the group had helped clean up at least the surrounding area, so when Jasican released Demetri, he would have as least suspicion as possible. While I knew as well as anyone that this plan was far from perfect and still had it's loose ends, it was probably the best was to avoid our detection from Aro and the Volturi.

Jasican finally reentered the building where he kept Demetri and brought him out, eyes still glazed black from Jasican's control. Once he stood Demetri next to the Prime Minister once more, he said, "Now, I have brought his memory back to before he spotted us, when you were introducing him. I suggest you pick up from there and continue as normally as possible."

"And if he doesn't believe us?" the Prime Minister asked.

"Then I'm truly sorry," Jasican replied genuinely. "But you have to recognize how precarious the situation is for my coven, and my first responsibility is to them. And as mush as killing Demetri would end the problem here, anything that might arouse Volturi suspicion, I have to eliminate, and that would be, needless to say, a giant red flag. Much as I'm sure you don't value your lives right now, I can't be the one to solve all your problems. I may be powerful, but I'm still young, not fully in control, and I'm not a deus ex machina. I can't dominate my problems away, and I'm sorry I can't give you any better guarantees."

Jasican looked at his watch and said, "Exactly two minutes after we leave, I will release control of Demetri. The rest is on you. If you have a deity you worship, I suggest you start praying now."

Without allowing anyone to say another word, Jasican said, "Farewell," and turned to walk away. In moments, we left the town and I shifted back to quicken our escape. We headed back north, towards Nahuel's caverns. Like clockwork, Jasican, after two minutes, gave one final bodily vibrate, and his mind was now clear of controlling any Volturi vampires.

After we arrived, Nahuel turned to Jasican and said, "I apologize for the delay, but Serena and Maysun were a bit apprehensive in coming to your aid. Joham wanted no part in this and did his best to attempt convincing them otherwise. And Alice nearly ran after you herself after seeing you encounter this Demetri."

"It's quite alright," Jasican replied. "What matters is that we're all safe, at least for the moment."

"Are you confident you were able to modify Demetri's memories?" Edward asked Jasican.

"I can't be one-hundred percent sure," he replied. "It was lucky I had attempted to merge Jacob's memories with Alice's beforehand, otherwise, I wouldn't have had any groundwork to even access individual memories of his. It was incredibly complex, but I basically was able to start from his last coherent memory and rewind back the amount of time he had seen me, along with any scents from myself and Jacob, then I just cast blackness in that entire area from that point on. It's not going to be a lasting solution, and I think Aro may catch on, but my hope is that it's enough to prevent accelerating his plans."

"So, what happens to us in the meantime?" Nahuel asked. "Would you have us come with you?"

"If you, and your family are committed to our cause," Jasican began, "then yes. For the moment, however, it may be prudent if you were to stay here for the time being. If my efforts with Demetri fail even slightly, and Caius still arrives in South America to find you, your disappearance will cause suspicion, especially if Demetri has a tracking lock on you. I will, however, leave it to your discretion when you decide to join us in Washington."

"Agreed," Nahuel replied. "I may not like that scenario, but for the time being, I don't think we have a choice, given the circumstances. We will join you when the time is right."

"I look forward to that day," Jasican said with a smile, shaking Nahuel's hand. Just then, I hear a noise coming from behind us, and at first, I thought we had been discovered. Then, after a moment, I see one vampire carrying another, and I realize that it's Joham.

"Hey! You!" He shouted, now walking towards us. "Who the fuck is responsible for ripping my son's leg off?!"

With a start, I dawned on me that he was carrying Nikolai in his arms, his leg somewhat reattached, but apparently not enough to support it. I walked forward and growled at them both, before giving off a loud bark.

Jasican looked to be holding back a smile, and said, "Joham, if you think for a moment that I'm going to give a rat's ass about you or Nikolai, who nearly spelt doom for myself and the efforts of my entire coven by siding with the Volturi, you are clearly one delusional motherfucker. You should be lucky that's all Jacob did to him, and that you two will take the opportunity to fuck off."

"How dare--."

"Listen," Jasican started, "clearly, the Volturi have overlooked you transgressions, but needless to say, once they find your continued experimentation a threat against them, they will come after you, which suits me just fine, as it takes heat off us. But don't think for a moment you are in a position to do anything against myself, or my coven. And I suggest you keep a closer eye on Nikolai, as he clearly doesn't have your best interests at heart."

Jasican just turned away from him, leaving Joham speechless. He faced Nahuel again and said, "I believe it's time I take my leave. I look forward to seeing you in Washington."

"Until next time, Jasican," Nahuel replied, shaking Jasican's hand once more. "Farewell, to you all."


	28. Chapter 28

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

_Jasican's Point of View_

"If the first attack was meant to destroy, this next one will be the one to bolster, and add both fear and numbers into the mix."

I stood before my coven once more, about to deliver them the Voltaire's next plan of attack against us. After catching the earliest flight back to the United States, about a day or so later after arriving in Chile, we finally arrived back at Seattle, and after about three and a half days total away from the palace, I was quite anxious to return. While technically coming back empty-handed in terms of more help, the knowledge of Demetri's mind and Nahuel's promise would be more than enough.

I had already briefed the Cullens, Jacob and the other vampires in my group about what I had discovered, but refrained from telling Zoe and until I can gather the rest of my coven and inform them all at once. By the severity of the situation fast approaching, only less than two months away, I knew I was going to need the help of all that were present with me back when we rescued Jacob, just to start. I was wary, however, of how much of my resources I should devote to deflecting the Volturi's next attack, as I could presume that even if we are successful in our efforts, we still lack the time we desire to fully engage in our recruitment efforts.

Aennik, Sarah, and Edemeé were still present when I arrived, the latter, of course, still unwilling to even be here, much less talk to us. I had hoped the time spent around her uncle and cousin, along with Zoe, would be enough to slowly begin to make a dent in her prejudicial views. It didn't, but at the very least, she had kept her mouth shut for the most part. And while most of the coven entirety was here, I addressed mostly my leadership and the Cullens, as they would be the ones commanding the coven in my place once the plan is revealed.

"While I am still unaware of what this 'final option' consists of, we know enough of their next plan to formulate a defense," I continued. "The Volturi's next attack will be here, on United States soil, as you can imagine, but it will not be a repeat of what happened in Suffolk.

"As you may or may not be aware of, the United States holds more prisoners per capita that any other country in the world, having some of the most violent offenders. While there are plenty of prisons that hold a massive number of prisoners, there is one prison, considered the king of all prisons in the US, the ADX Florence, located in it's city's namesake in Colorado. This one holds the most dangerous, most unredemptive people, who sought to bring the most damage against people, both physically and emotionally, and these are the people the Volturi seek to unleash upon the unsuspecting population."

A moment's silence passed before Lydia spoke up, "How is this supposed to be worst than Suffolk?"

"I haven't even gotten to the best part," I replied dryly. "The Volturi are not only intending to unleash the prison population as a whole back into the world, but they are planning to turn them all. Using a vampire within their Guard, Chelsea, I believe her name is, to keep them all under Volturi control as they spread across the country, unchecked, I may add, with the humans powerless to stop them. With so many unexplained murders throughout, it will ensure that, not only will our own efforts of recruitment for this coven be significantly impacted, but it will also send another nail into the coffin of our final efforts at revelation."

"Wouldn't having to keep control of so many vampires spread the Volturi thin?" Emmett asked.

"Not necessarily," Carlisle replied. "The Volturi's resources are vast, and could easily have influence spread in places we haven't considered."

"And with the loyalist group we found in Chile," I continued, "it'll make it extremely difficult for us to know whether the next coven we attempt to approach would be friend or foe. As much as I hate to admit it, the Volturi seem to have plans within plans, even if they aren't directly involved, and feel they wouldn't have too much to lose at this point. They are still perceived as the strongest, with gifts rivaling ours greatly enhancing their machine. It wouldn't take too much effort on their part to subvert and destroy enough of the leadership of the human world to declare their own rule."

"I'd argue that would be a bit overreaching on their part, should that be true," Zoe spoke up. "Aro has spent millennia keeping vampires out of human sight, I find it highly illogical that they would give that up in order to combat a rival coven."

"I suspect Aro already believes he controls the world," I countered. "He would simply be changing tactics to ensure he keeps the throne, perceiving us to be enough of a threat to turn the world against us. He may see us enough of a threat to, ironically, reveal their own existence to the human world, twisting our purpose, through subterfuge, before sending everything to bear upon us. This latest plan, it appears, that the Volturi are growing less concerned about keeping secrecy, if they want newborns, former prisoners, mind you, to roam freely across the country, killing at will, and causing chaos. I fear they will pull all stops to keep power."

"So what's our next move then?" Brett asked.

"While secrecy may no longer be the Volturi's goal in the end," I began, "we must maintain it, at least for now. The prison is well-guarded, naturally, but only against other humans. Should a vampire or two wish to infiltrate, the humans there will be ill-equipped to deal with their rampage, and it would be all they need to silence all the guards, and leave the playing field wide open for them. The prison, from this point on, shall be under our constant surveillance--."

I suddenly experienced an almost dizzying sensation going through my head, and split-second flashes ran through my head, over my eyes. Most zoomed by without me getting a clear shot at what I was looking at, and the sensation had dissipated within seconds of the incident.

It was clearly enough to notice when I realized I had my eyes closed, my right hand bracing against the chair to hold my balance, and the looks of concern on the majority of my coven's faces.

"Everything alright?" Jacob approached me from the left.

"Yeah, I think I've been taking too much," I replied low. "My mind is probably trying to flush out some of the leftover memories."

"Has it happened before?" Zoe asked.

"No," I confirmed, "but it's nothing. It's not painful or anything. I'm fine."

"Can you be sure it's only one or two who may attempt to attack?" Sarah chimed in, before Zoe got another word in.

"If I must cite precedent, which I admit is very little to go by, the Volturi are attempting to keep their operations as simple as possible, in order to keep suspicion off them until the time is right. Diverting a few in order to maintain their whole would ensure that should things go out of their favor, the Volturi can deny involvement, citing disgruntled nomads, for instance. While Aro wishes to keep fear of their 'law' within the vampire world, I can imagine too much of their open involvement would push others further into our cause."

"If that's the case," Sarah began, "then perhaps they can employ loyalists, or nomads from here to help with this new attack. I agree it'll involve a small amount, but I don't think they're going to try the same thing twice. They would have to suspect that your lot will have caught on and are making attempts to combat them. The Volturi would obviously be right, but even if your efforts abroad be kept completely from the Volturi, they are doing well not to underestimate you."

"It seems like the Volturi are doing a wonderful job of keeping us overthinking," Bill said. "It wouldn't be too far of a stretch if half of what we were talking about and planning resulted in chasing ghosts. The truth of the matter is we are still too far into the unknown to make suppositions like this. If we try to anticipate every single one of their movements, we may end up literally killing ourselves in the process. We simply do not have enough yet to make these assumptions."

I couldn't help but smile, "Usually it's Lydia to make the first cynical remark. I can't imagine your CIA background to play a part in this," I said with a sarcastic tinge.

"Hmm, perhaps," he replied. "I know from experience that the US likes to chase it's own ghosts, or sometimes even create them in order to pursue a goal. But we've been short-sighted before, and it's cost us dearly in the past. As you know, we tend to act more aggressively should the warfront reach from within our own soil, our own people, and then everyone is left asking what could have been done to prevent it."

I closed my eyes briefly, "Neither train of thought brings more comfort than the other. However, we have the knowledge, and for the moment, it needs to be our focus. As much as I hate the step-by-step approach, it's all we're allowed for a time, until we gain more knowledge, enough to where we can thoroughly combat the Volturi, we can't afford to stray and chase theories that hold no substance.

"I believe Sarah is right though, and even if the Volturi keeps its numbers low for this next attack, we need to make sure we have more than enough to face them. As I said before, a couple of vampires on watch around the prison should be enough to detect any vampire who enters range. As the time draws near, I'll divert more vampires to the prison, and eventually, I'll join to oversee the effort. With any luck, we can end this fast without any bloodshed."

"And since you believe I'm right," Sarah broke in, "I feel obligated to offer my own assistance in helping you with defending the prison, and I'm sure Annika wouldn't be opposed to offer a few more to help. Aennik?"

"I'm fairly certain she would," Aennik began, but was cut off by Edemeé before he could finish his thought. "Are you kidding me?! Now you wish to risk our lives to help them?"

"There are human lives at risk, and Jasican has given me no reason not to believe him," Sarah retorted. "It is our duty to help."

"My duty is to the tribe, Sarah," Edemeé shot back angrily, "not to the vampires you've decided to align yourself with, and place over the safety of our own. And last I checked, you weren't the Chieftain."

"Neither are you, young one," Sarah added harshly.

"While Edemeé's intentions are misplaced," I started, "I may have to agree with her sentiment. It is unclear, at least to me, if there is any shifter population in the region, and having shifters with us may prove to harm the Chimakuns in the long run should the Volturi manage to report back their involvement. Aside from the obvious fact that it would put your overall sense of maintaining your own secrecy from the human population in jeopardy, should your involvement become necessary if things get dirty."

"And here I thought you wanted our help," Sarah said with a raised eyebrow.

"I do, certainly," I replied. "However, I must consider the safety of everyone, and I am not your representative, nor your leader. I wouldn't be able to consciously ask you to dive into this endeavor."

"You won't have to," Sarah stood up now. "Listen, I appreciate your concern, but I wouldn't be offering help to you if I didn't believe anything you were saying. You've shown me enough to show that the Volturi mean to cause great harm against more humans, and to yourselves. It may be far outside our boundaries, but we're still shifters, and we still hold our most sacred duties to the protection of humans. And perhaps showing our involvement to the Volturi would make them think twice before trying to face you again."

I shook my head, but smiled regardless, "While I still think it's a bad idea, it would be a disservice to refuse your help."

"There's an even greater danger than you think, Jasican," Carlisle spoke up. "Chelsea is not only there to keep control of newborns. She has the power to manipulate the relationships and loyalties of all around her, highly coveted with Aro. She may have backup similar to Demetri's."

"Not to mention the obvious," Jacob said, "shifters are faster--."

"Once again," Brett interrupted, "only linear, not maneuverability--."

"And given the last shifter I had to chase down was far faster than usual," Jacob continued without missing a beat, "shifter backup would benefit far more than the risk promotes."

"Then it's settled," Sarah simply replied, before rejoining her father and disgruntled cousin.

"Very well," I continued. "So, as I said before, I'll be assigning at least two vampires to the prison from here on out. We'll scout the area beforehand, to ensure there's enough wildlife to sustain your blood supply. In the meantime, in case the Volturi decide to surprise us again, we need to figure out how they're getting into the country."

"I suspect they may have private means, granted they have the wealth for it," Edward said. "It's what we would usually do, if we wanted to travel abroad in daylight."

"Ha, I wouldn't put it past them to have their own personal airports and jets," I added cynically. "'Welcome to Volturi Airlines. Please check in your human cargo.'"

"In any case," Zoe held back a slight smile, "we need to figure out who's being sent and how soon."

"Right," I stiffened up. "As we need to keep quiet, I'll keep you two," I pointed at Bill and Lydia, "on the majority of the guard duty, since you can stay evasive the best. I'll switch you both out with another vampire I'll send with you, and keep the rest of you," I finished gesturing at Brett, Micah, and Ty, "as the alternate commands should I switch both Bill and Lydia out. Until we get more shifters to help us out, I'll start sending one shifter to assist in the prison guard about three weeks in. We have a good seven weeks until the attack, so we'll take this opportunity also to fortify ourselves, and train a bit.

"As we continue guard, Zoe and I will continue to search out any domestic covens, unless we get a solid lead on an international hit, while at the same time, keeping our alliance," I gestured at the Chimakuns, "solid, and communications open. Hopefully, between you and Annika, we should be able to maintain a solid defense force. I'd not like to take any chances, and play it safe, should any of our actions catch their attention, and provoke an early, or different, attack. We just have to remember to stay vigilant, as the deeper we go, the further the Volturi go to maintain the fear instilled in nearly every vampire. Approaching the wrong people could end up disastrous to us all."


	29. Chapter 29

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

_Jasican's Point of View_

As I dismissed everyone, now a bit more confident with a plan, I put forth more effort in suppressing whatever it was that happened earlier. I wasn't sure how it happened, or why, but as I told Zoe a short time ago, I had a feeling it had something to do with the memories I had been absorbing. While the sensation was gone, I could see, should I let my mind wander, things that didn't happen, at least through my own eyes. While I wasn't concerning myself at the moment, I knew I would have to later investigate, but for the least, I should stop infiltrating other people's minds.

Jacob came to my side and placed his arm around me. Whether he was still on what he had seen earlier, or whether he could see I was stressed, he asked me, "You okay?"

"I hope so, Jake," I allowed myself to say. I decided not to let on about the other half of fear residing in my mind. "It's easy to plan, but also easy to miscalculate."

"You're just doubting yourself," Jacob said. "And besides, even if the Chimakuns don't lend anymore help, you've got a total of five shifters--."

I cut him off with a raised eyebrow and looked directly at Edemeé, whom was looking anxious to leave the palace walls again. "Right," Jacob said, slightly dishearten, "four shifters, which combined with the coven serves as a formidable force against the Volturi."

I took the opportunity to delve into Jacob's feelings to divert from my own. "You seemed uneasy, excluding her."

"She reminds me of what I left behind," Jacob admitted. "With Sam, and everyone else. To see that spread into other tribes, it doesn't feel right."

"I can understand she her apprehension towards vampires because of her father," I said, "but there has to be more than she's letting on. I mean, while her arguments and borderline paranoia towards the actions of vampires seem overblown, I do have to admit, she is being the most pragmatic."

"It still doesn't excuse the hatred," Jacob grumbled. "To be overly-analytical is one thing, but she thinks even being around us is a sin against nature. No, she only thinks the way she does outloud because I can tell, deep down, she doesn't want you or your species to exist at all."

We turned away from the foyer and started walking to the opposite hall. "She is still young, and it will take time for tolerance to set in. It can't happen overnight, but all it takes is a single thought to begin a whole new perspective."

"I hope you're right," Jacob said sadly.

"Hey, chin up," I said with a smile. "We have some time before anything else, so lets enjoy the break while we can. In the meantime, I think Zoe said Seth was finishing hunting soon. Why don't you go catch up with him and let him know what's going on?"

"Hmm," Jacob managed a smile, "alright then. I'll see you in a few."

"Okay," I kissed him once deeply before he took off out the door, hearing him shift just a moment later.

But now I was once again alone with my thoughts. I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something...amiss. I couldn't put my finger on it, but the more I sought to find what it may be, other mental images spilled in, distracting me, and keeping me from further pursuing it. I knew the feeling would return, so I tired to clear my mind as I started walking back deeper into the palace again. I had thought about returning to my room until Jacob came back, hoping to kick start my mental contemplation there.

It hit me right before I climbed the tower staircase. I didn't necessarily have to go back to my room, I could go anywhere. While there was no official inheritance of this palace to me after Godric died, my ascension to leader essentially guaranteed me the freedom to go wherever I want within these walls. Questions, since my very vampire birthing, had constantly plagued my mind, and I very well may find the answers here.

I didn't know where to go first. I thought for a moment, maybe Godric had his own bedroom here. There were dozens, and I would assume that perhaps, even as a vampire, he would need a place to retire after being in his office all day, or out on assignment. My first guess brought me to the uppermost floor of the palace, thinking he would benefit from the expansive view of the environment below. I tried looking for anything that may specifically be his. I figured my best guess was to look for his scent, as if the room had been undisturbed this whole time, the air would be older in there, and would keep for far longer that simple abandonment.

When my searched turned up fruitless, I sought out the rooms within the several towers along the outer palace. Skipping past my own room, I once again looked for anything that would even slightly resonate with Godric's former presence. Nothing. I tired the lower floors, past the Cullens' rooms, Zoe's room, Seth's room, and the rest of the inhabitants. Nothing. As I brought myself back to ground floor, I was forced to admit that perhaps Godric may have only had his office to occupy.

I returned to the foyer, finding it significantly less occupied since I was discussing my battle plans. Only a few vampires were conversing with each other, so I didn't feel the need to interact or acknowledge anyone as I made my way to Godric's office. However, that didn't stop one particular vampire from speaking to me, "You look distracted, Master Allicus."

I turned around to see Eleazar, from the Denali Coven, behind me, leaning against the wall. "I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you in private. And while I may not be Alice, I think I can safely guess it as something to do with what's occupying your mind."

It took a moment to register what he said, but for the moment, I stowed the thought away and kept my mind open. "I was heading to Godric's office anyway," and I gestured him to follow.

We entered the office and I closed the door behind us. Eleazar had already taken the liberty of sitting at the lounge area in front of Godric's desk, and I followed suit. "I hadn't exactly the opportunity earlier to discuss certain things about you, and what I'm reading."

"'What you're reading'?" I repeated.

"Yes," Eleazar continued. "You and your companions left before I could get a firm reading of you and...Oh, where are my manners? I haven't even given you a context as to what I'm even talking about, or why I wished this to be private."

"Go on," I said with newfound skepticism.

"You see," Eleazar began, "with our 'relations' with the Volturi so soured, it would be unwise for the rest of your coven to be aware of the fact that I was once a Volturi myself."

I attempted to keep my face blank as I heard this, but Eleazar was able to see right through it, "I am not surprised, you do not hear often of vampires willingly leaving the Volturi. There have been others, no doubt, but needless to say, they didn't have usefulness in Aro's eyes after their departure. He would have seen them dispatched in due time."

"Why are you still alive then?" I asked, eyes narrowed.

"You may have already guessed there answer yourself," Eleazar replied, "but it is because of my ability that he keeps me around. Demetri will still have a lock on me, no doubt, keeping me within arms reach should I wish to return to them, and welcome me back with open arms."

"And I would assume that there is a reason as to why you haven't gone back?" I pressed.

"Oh, come now," Eleazar mused, "you mustn't think that my loyalties are always balanced on the edge of a knife. I am fully committed to my coven, and yours. Lesser vampires may have succumb to Chelsea's power, but not me. My mate, Carmen, has seen to that, and will continue to do so until our final parting. Love is far stronger than you realize."

"So it seems," I agreed. "How long have you been out of the Volturi?"

"The better part of the last two-hundred years," Eleazar answered. "Not since the late 18th Century, if memory serves. I've received a letter every half-century or so, from Aro, inquiring about life and my standing in general, but I never reply. No, I found that, early on, the Volturi way of life was not for me, and thankfully, it has led me to a much more fulfilling life."

"And why is it that Aro wishes to keep you around?" I dated to ask.

"Ah yes, the most interesting of answers, and the most important, as is the reason why I'm here with you in the first place. You see, I have the ability to see other vampire's abilities. I can identify with reasonable accuracy what they are and determine how powerful they may be. Needless to say, with me at Aro's side, I was able to find him a few vampires that now have come to serve him well...and we'll probably have to face in the coming future."

I remained silent as Eleazar continued, "I suspect since you are early in your tenure as coven master that you were not made aware of my gift. It was because of this that I was able to identify and, with the help of others, of course, develop the defensive gift of Bella Cullen, which proved pivotal in our standoff with the Volturi about ten years ago. Her mental shield was able to deflect any of the psychic powers the Volturi had attempted to employ against them."

"And this connects back to me...how?" I spoke up.

"Since you came back from Chile, I was able to get a significant look into your abilities and decipher a bit of how it works," Eleazar said almost proudly. "You have been, by far, one of the most curious vampires I have ever scanned. Not even Bella, who's power had manifested even as a human, didn't baffle me as much as you do."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I was now growing anxious at his answers.

"Your powers are presented in two forms," Eleazar answered. "One of which, is your mental power, the other, which I did not see until you returned, is your physical power. While there are some gifted vampires that possess more than one gift, how your gifts are approached is much different. Your mental powers, the ability to control minds, is present as one gift, but it is so expansive that you are able to manipulate it to however you see fit. Accessing memories, sending thoughts of suggestion, and even dominating the wills and minds of those around you, these are all unified under the one banner of complete mental control. But looking at your power, it appears that you have not reached your full potential."

"What do you mean?" I asked, now afraid. "That I'm only going to get more powerful?"

"It appears to be the case," Eleazar confirmed. "The way your power works, is that you must experience a particularly strong emotion at the time in order to 'unlock' a new ability. These emotions have to be so distinct and separate from one another, it seems, in order to prevent from accidentally setting one off at the wrong time. Zoe had filled me in on how she was training you to control your powers, but seeing into your mind, I'm able to conclude that the emotion you are feeling at that present moment will influence what power will be revealed at that time. But not only that, each instance of strong emotion, presumably a traumatic event, will set off another lock and further expand your mental ability. I believe I can safely postulate that in time, you will be able to access every corner of an individual's mind, which in turn, will cause you to control everything about them."

I was deeply unsettled by this. The more I think about it, the more I think back to my constant expression of the ticking time-bomb which I seem to be a personification of. I tried, with little success, to put the matter aside in my mind. "And of the physical?"

"This one is even more of a mystery than your mental powers," Eleazar confessed. "Until you had returned, and I had another chance to speak with Zoe, I wouldn't have had an idea of where this power even came from. Your mental power is stemmed from your strongest human attribute in your human life, there is no doubt about it, but your physical power seems to be a direct copy of your maker's power. The most curious of all, as two gifts are never completely alike."

"I had thought about that," I replied, "but I had gotten to see Godric's power before he had died. Mine seemed to be much stronger than when he was attempting to escape the Volturi."

"Be that as it may, based on Zoe's admission, and what I see within you, I can see that your newfound telekinesis, like Godric's, is not limited to one setting of intensity. You can feel the energy within you that allows you to perform this feat, and thus, with training, of course, can control how much energy you are willing to out in that particular power. No, it baffled her as well, seeing as Godric was able to use his power previously with much greater success, and she found it odd that Godric, for his age, was not able to properly defend himself."

"So what is all this supposed to mean?!" I couldn't contain myself any longer.

"I am unsure, Master Allicus," Eleazar responded, his tone lowered. I had hoped that a more thorough scan would yield more answers, but I see that I have only created more questions than answers for us both. I did not mean to upset you."

"It's...it's alright," I attempted once again to calm myself, but found it difficult.

"I suppose I had better take my leave," Eleazar stood up and began walking towards the exit. "If you have any more questions, I'll do my best to answer, but I think I've done enough for now. I'm sorry I couldn't have been more help to you."

I nodded, not really paying much attention. I was back immersed in deep thought, trying to figure out in any logical sense why I seem to be growing in power with no provocation. I thought back to a few days ago, back in Chile, where I had encountered my...brother...Joham. If I had him here, I could have Eleazar see into him as well and decipher his powers, should he possess any. Before I could peruse the thought any further, my recollection of our encounter revealed that Joham had shown no special talent, and was simply a five-hundred year old progeny of Godric. I couldn't figure out why I was so different from him, from any other vampire, from even Godric himself.

I couldn't accept that it was simply my willingness to influence the people around me in friendship during my human life could have spawned an ability with seemingly near infinite prowess. And what if my newest power? More questions with little answers to go by. If what Eleazar is insinuating is true, then I have a replica of Godric's power within me, and if my mental powers can be explained, why can't my physical?

I shook my head and tried to clear my mind as much as possible. I could tell it was getting late in the day, and I expected Jacob to be back with Seth soon. With Eleazar gone, and I was alone once again, I redoubled my search to find anything of Godric's that may shed some light on my unique case. I thought about, later, to talk to Carlisle again, as his expertise would come in handy, but that wouldn't be until I searched through every inch of this room, hell, even the whole palace if I had to. This would be the one of, perhaps the first of many instances I was glad I didn't have to sleep, and with that in mind, I sped to the massive bookcase at the opposite end of the office, and began my immense search.


	30. Chapter 30

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

 

_Jacob's Point of View_

I came back with Seth to the palace around sunset, staying out a bit later, as I hadn't eaten anything except airplane crackers since I came back. Seth seemed excited at the prospect of joining us this time around for our defense against the Volturi in the coming weeks. I know that he, like many within the coven, were anxious to be able to finally do something instead of being cooped up in the palace.

We entered the palace through the front end, not expecting many vampires to be hanging around at this time of the day. However, seeing a light still on in Godric's office was not a usual occurrence, and I thought I was missing a late night meeting or something. I started for the door, Seth only footsteps behind me. The door was cracked, so I pushed it open to find the room almost morphing. Blurs were going through across my eyes, as Jasican appeared from one end of the room, from the bookcase, to the desk situated in the center of the room.

"Umm, Jace?" I said with uncertainty.

Jasican stopped right in his tracked and looked at me. "Oh, hey!" he said cheerfully. "Glad you're back. I have been going through pounds and pounds of shit and I have been unable to find anything useful in this place."

I entered the office and approached Jasican, "Well, what is it you're looking for?"

"Records," Jasican replied, "documents. Anything that can shed light on why I only seem to be getting stronger at an uncontrollable rate."

"Uncontrollable?" I repeated, insanely confused. "What makes you think that?"

"Eleazar," Jasican simply said. "He said he never had a chance to examine my powers before we left for Chile, and I was already thinking of starting to search for anything that may help me. But then he told me he sensed...locks in my head. My powers in greater form, of intensity, increasing with each emotional trauma I experience, each highly stressful situations. And even having powers that would normally be impossible for me to have, as a prodigy...I feel like I'm a walking, dangerous mystery box."

"Jasican," I pleaded, "you're just being paranoid. Look," he gave me a scornful stare, "I know you didn't expect to be vampire-related to a psycho, but he's not important right now."

"It's not just Joham. I don't even think he factors into this equation. I just...I don't feel right, Jacob. I have such a terrible feeling I'm holding back something that could kill you all."

Past that, there wasn't anything I could say to sway Jasican. After about thirty minutes of gentle, subtle pushing, Jasican just started speeding back and forth again between the desk and the bookshelf, undaunted, and encouraging me to get some sleep. I would have normally put up more of an effort with Jasican, but jet lag was hitting me hard and my body was screaming for our bed. He promised me he would join me in a bit, and I headed up to our room.

I said goodnight to Seth and entered our room. After closing the door, I quickly shed off my clothes and dove into bed. Jasican's scent was still extremely prevalent on his pillow, and as I drew closer, I drifted further into sleep. Seconds later, it seemed like, the sun was still peaking out the horizon, but now in the opposite direction. I opened my eyes expecting Jasican near me.

He was never there. His side of the bed was completely undisturbed, and I knew instantly Jasican had spent the entire night in Godric's office. I grew massively concerned at this point and went to find Zoe to inform her.

Arriving on the second floor, I was relieved to find Zoe quickly, as she was already walking towards the stairs. "Hey, good morning, Jacob," she greeted me.

"Morning, Zoe," I breathed. "Listen, have you noticed something strange about Jasican?"

She made a face before answering shortly, "No, not anything out of the ordinary, but then again, you've been away the nearly the last week, so I haven't been able to tell since then."

"Right," I replied, "cause I think he's been in Godric's office all night, searching through all the books he has in there."

"The hell?" her face contorted to a confused look. "What does he hope to find?"

"Something to explain why he has his powers," I said, frustration rising at the situation.

"Look, something spooked him and maybe he needs some time to himself to mentally sort it out," Zoe said calmly, walking passed me. She went upwards on the staircase, however, instead of her usual morning drop to the foyer. I decided she wanted me to follow her and I quickly sped up to catch pace.

"I'm not comfortable with leaving Jasican to himself," I expressed darkly. "He's very paranoid right now, and I think he needs to find someone who can help calm him down."

"He thinks darkly of himself and his abilities," Zoe replied. "If I had to be honest, I think I would think the same way if I was thought I was a danger to myself and others."

"But you trained him," I pressed. We arrived at the top of the palace, near the opposite side where Aennik and I had talked before. "I thought you said he was ready for this."

"I know, but I didn't even anticipate Jasican to gain more powers," Zoe shot back. "Listen, there are too many things about him that are firsts for us. We can't anticipate every new direction this situation is gonna throw at us, and expect our same tactics to work."

"But I just can't help this useless feeling I have," I said, toning my voice now. "He's in there, his mind a mess and probably feeling very alone, and it pains me there's nothing I can do."

"He'll seek you out when he's ready," Zoe replied. "And remember, you're your own person too. Don't forget to tend to your own mental needs."

"Ugh, it's not that easy," I grunted in frustration. "By my Imprint, I'm bound to make sure he is safe, both physically and mentally. It'll always be him before me."

Zoe was silent for a moment before giving off a very human sigh. "Jasican does seem to have a lot of Godric in him. I know he literally does, with Godric's blood within him, but the way Jasican just seems to compose himself to match each situation, lack of control aside, it almost mirror's Godric."

"I wouldn't know," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "I think about it all the time: I've only known Jasican for nearly four months, at this point, his human life only slightly more than his vampire. Yet, I don't think I've seen him in a single, stable, emotional state. When he wasn't dealing with a long-distance relationship, he was busy shouting at me. After that, finding out he had been cheated on, then turning into a vampire, and that's before including he loved me back. And having our lives consistently in danger for a time, and even till now, I mean I could go on, but the point I'm trying to make is that I'm afraid if he doesn't fall into some form of mental calm soon, at least as much as a vampire could, I'm afraid he'll turn crazy."

I felt a sliver of adrenaline run through my body as I finished that last sentence, causing me to clench my fists. I try hard not to think about it, but even with knowing Jasican such a short time, even with my Imprint, almost feeling like I have known him my whole life at the same time, the confusion and the fear of the ever-persisting unknown nearly clouds my mind. As the Imprinter, shifters are typically supposed to be protectors of their (often) human counterparts, but as I am currently the only shifter I know whom as Imprinted on anyone other than a human, this has not been the case. It would have worked better, had Jasican stayed a human, so that I would have been able to handle a typical relationship with him, and I would be equipped with the knowledge of everything I was supposed to do. I learned the hard way, with Reneesme, that wasn't the case, and with Jasican as a full vampire, I find myself failing to anticipate everything he needs, and it seems he's more the protector than I am, for now. I suppose it's not just Jasican I'm wishing stability for.

Zoe paused for a moment before saying, "I must admit, I'm not too familiar with the concept of shifter Imprinting. Godric typically would stay out of shifter territories as to not agitate them, so, without actually going to the Cullens themselves, I'd rather get a firsthand account of the experience. Especially with how Jasican's progression has been."

"Honestly, while I have my own fears and worries," I replied, "my Imprint to Jace nullifies a lot of the negative aspects of what he may do. In it's basic tenants, I'm supposed to love, protect, and keep Jasican safe. All other concerns are secondary.

"Do you think he could do something that would change your feelings of him?" Zoe pressed. "Anything that could form actual, true apprehension towards him?"

"I hope I never have to find out."

Zoe didn't seem to be able to say anything for a while, probably because she knew I was right. "You know, I've been thinking," she started again, and I could tell a subject change was in order, "Jasican said that Demetri was accompanied by the prime minister of Italy, meaning that at least some of their government knows about the Volturi, and vampires in general."

"I would think," I replied. "Seeing as the Volturi choose to live there, I don't have trouble imagining that they influence the Italian government to turn a blind eye to all the humans they probably use for food there."

"Hmm, perhaps," Zoe did not seem the least bit convinced. "I was thinking a bit more on a broader scale."

"Meaning?"

"Well, first of all, what does the prime minister of Italy have going for him, having accompanying Demetri and his guard to a meeting with Chilean vampires?"

"If I remember correctly," I closed my eyes in thought, "it seemed like he had met with them at least once before, because the leader there sounded rather impatient at having to keep waiting for Aro to appear. I think, since the Volturi are obviously working with their human government in some fashion, that Aro may have thought the talent in Chile was beneath his attention and sent what he viewed as more disposable, but still keeping in mind Nahuel. So maybe they were there to keep tabs on him?"

"Eh, too much effort," Zoe observed. "While I'm sure Aro was fascinated with Nahuel, he could have just sent one vampire to do the job. No, I fear something deeper is at play here."

"What do you think, then?"

"That the Volturi possess dominion over the Italian government, not working with them," Zoe stated. "It would certainly help with maintaining their secrecy, but having a human that high in their government playing Aro's errand boy? I couldn't even imagine Aro doing anything of the sort; he has to have a hidden motive underneath."

"Could it be a possibility that everyone here simply gives the Volturi too much credit?" I asked. "I mean, I know the Volturi are strong and cunning, but to believe they have this many plans, and plans beneath plans. It nearly borders on crazy conspiracy theory."

"Aro, Marcus, and Caius, from the time they ascended to power, have looked for any way possible to prevent anyone from stealing their throne. If you had owned that kind of power for over twenty-five hundred years, would you give it up so easily?"

"Zoe," I started to get annoyed, "that's pandering to the lowest common--."

"No, think about it," Zoe pressed. "Aro has maintained near absolute control of the vampire world for that whole time. Back then, there probably wasn't any incentive to give humans a second thought, not seeing them as a threat. What if he's ensuring that, if vampires loyal to him would keep an eye out for their respective human governments, that humans would stay a non-issue for the Volturi, especially with our coven challenging them?"

It then hit me, something that was said, not recently, but nearly ten years ago, on that cold, white plain, where we made our first stand against the Volturi. Aro had just experienced his first up-close encounter with Reneesme, now convinced she was not an immortal child. I didn't pay too much attention to what he said, during that time, but the words came back rushing, almost haunting:

"For the first time in our history, humans pose a threat to our kind. Their modern technology has given birth to weapons that could destroy us. Maintaining our secret has never been more imperative. In such perilous times, only the known is safe. Only the known is tolerable, and we know nothing of what this child will become. Can we live with such uncertainty? Spare ourselves a fight today, only to die tomorrow."

I know he was then talking of the unknowns of letting a half-vampire/half-human child exist, but if he, then, thought that humans were gaining the upper hand on technology that could legitimately combat a vampire, it would seem Aro's paranoia had grown strong indeed.

"I didn't really think about it," I admitted. "Even Aro himself said it, I remember. But all of this is just guessing!" I turned around, rubbing the back of my head, and trying to shake the thought. "We know little, and we're taking that and launching into massive supposition."

"I know, Jacob, but if we don't think of these possibilities now," Zoe said, "then when it does happen, it'll be far to late to do anything about it. If Aro were somehow influencing vampires to infiltrate their respective governments and keep tabs on their technological progress, they can stop any threatening research right at the source."

"I thought you were one of the ones who warned against us overreaching," I reminded her.

"I supposed paranoia is more of an innate trait in vampires than I thought," Zoe replied, suppressing a smile. "Remember, we are in a state of war with the Volturi, so we have to consider every possibility...carefully," she added, attempting to calm her stony face.

"Yeah, I suppose so," I said, unconvinced. "C'mon, let's go check on Jasican."

As we descended from the top of the palace, I tried to keep my mind blank, with little success. We've all had our own individual things to worry about, in addition to the shared. With so much at stake now, I can't help but feel that Zoe may be right. I just hope we're all strong enough to meet the challenges ahead.


	31. Chapter 31

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

 

_Jasican's Point of View_

"Dammit!" I shouted out loud. I slammed the last book down in frustration, knowing my whole search had been in vain. It was that moment Jacob and Zoe came through the door, looks of concern on their face.

"What's wrong, Jace?" Jacob asked me.

"Nothing!" I replied loudly. "That's the problem. I've been through literally every inch of this room, every page, every crevice, every single thing, and there is absolutely nothing here that can help me."

"Well, did you really expect to find something here?" Jacob inquired.

"Yes...and no," I admitted in defeat. "I don't know, I'm not certain at all if, even if I did find something, it would have actually shed light on my situation, or taken a giant shit on it."

"It's possible Raymond could have hidden anything of Godric's after his death," Zoe said, casually glancing the room.

"Maybe, but I'm not exactly willing to see him again at the moment," I huffed. I was extremely disappointed, I spent a whole day and a half looking for essentially nothing.

"Did you learn anything?" Zoe asked.

"Hmm, lots of Shakespeare and Steven King," I replied amusingly. "Aside from the oddball literature, nothing more. I suppose whatever knowledge Godric carried with him about me, if any at all, died with him."

Jacob and Zoe just gave me cornered looks. I know they both wanted to help me bad, but at this point, I don't think there's anything any of us could do. I suppose I could see what Carlisle can say on the matter, but I feared he would probably tell me what I already knew.

"C'mon, let's see if the others are down yet," I said, taking the last book and placing it back in its proper place. Just then, my thoroughly forgotten phone was vibrating on Godric's desk. Both Jacob and Zoe gave me confused looks, to which I returned in kind. As all my vampires were accounted for within the palace, I wondered who would have this number, and what they wanted.

My phone rang a few more times before I sped towards it and tapped the answer key. "Hello?" I greeted, cautiously.

"Hello," a female voice rang through the speaker. "May I please speak to Jasican Allicus?"

I looked back at Jacob and Zoe, my confusion and concern elevating. "Speaking, may I ask who this is?"

"I'm terribly sorry, my dear," the female voice continued, "I realize that this must be rather unexpected, seeing as this number was quite difficult to obtain. Imagine my delight when I learned that we use the same service, and it took very little persuasion to hand it over."

"You still didn't answer my question," I pressed.

"Oh, pardon me, Mr. Allicus, I do get a little ahead of myself at times," the female voice replied cheerfully. "My name is Adeline Beaufort, and I am interested in meeting you."

I wasn't sure what to make of this. I had to assume this woman was a vampire, but her efforts to contact me were questionable, as anyone who's willing to coerce information about someone from another individual didn't exactly bode well with me.

"I realize this must be odd," Ms. Beaufort continued, "but I had to make sure I caught you at the right moment. You see, while your adventures in Chile were thought to be well-hidden, word of mouth does reach even the furthest of ears, and I have a way of learning what I want, whenever I want. That means, depending on who has learned of this, that it's possible your party crash will reach Aro's ears."

I straighten up as I heard her words, realizing that if someone talked to her, then, if my efforts at covering up what had happened in Chile had failed, we could have a disaster on our hands very soon.

"Fortunately, I made sure that my source remained secure," Ms. Beaufort assured me, "as is your secret, Mr. Allicus."

"So let me ask you this," I broke in, "if you know so much about me, which I'm sure you do, from the way you're sounding, what is it you want from me?"

"Now, now, let's leave the presumptions for when we meet, Mr. Allicus," Ms. Beaufort replied. "We still know very little about each other, something I hope to remedy soon. My goal is to join forces with your coven to help you defeat the Volturi, and fortunately, you've proven to be worth my attention."

While I remained suspicious, my heart leaped at the possibility of increasing our numbers. Even if it's just a few more, it's better than coming up empty, especially with the prison defense coming soon.

"If I may ask, Ms. Beaufort," I started, "why is it you're approaching me now, if you had been aware of my existence before?"

"Granted, I've only just learned about you, Mr. Allicus, but the coven, and it's location have been known to me for quite some time when it was under Godric's leadership, " Ms. Beaufort stated. "In fact, I was approached about a year ago to join his efforts at revelation, but at the time, it was only myself and my younger brother together, so not so much a coven then."

"What changed your mind?"

"My children," she answered simply. "While during my vampire life, I preferred to remain alone, my now late maker had given me a brother, and I had grown quite attached to him. This offered me a new perspective on vampire life and I thought I would lend a hand in dealing with other younglings."

"An admirable goal," I admitted, "but forgive my skepticism. I would need to see for myself how compassionate you really are."

"Of course," Ms. Beaufort said confidently. "I normally would never claim anything I wasn't able to backup."

"Well, you have my attention, Ms. Beaufort," I continued, "and I would be very interested in meeting you."

"Splendid!" she cheered. "Since I am aware Godric has been absent for a time, I can assume he's missing or dead, so I can also assume that you are not aware of our location."

"You would be correct," I confessed. "Godric unfortunately did not leave me with much to work with."

"Fortunately, I'm fairly easy to find," Ms. Beaufort assured me. "There's a small river near West Creston, in British Columbia, where I have my residence. It's fairly new, seeing as I needed a place to keep my children, so I wouldn't have faulted Godric for not informing you correctly of my location in the first place."

"Very well, I will meet with you as soon as I can," I replied.

"Excellent," she said. "You may bring whomever you wish, seeing as you clearly don't trust me yet. I do, however, have one request on behalf of one of my children. Please bring with you Isabella Cullen."

While this still surprised me a bit, I didn't question how she knew Bella was here. "I'll ask her to come with me."

"One more thing," Ms. Beaufort chimed in. "Most of my children have never heard of, much less seen a shape-shifter before. While I'm aware you had one with you in Chile, I request you do not bring any shifters here. While I have no qualms with them, my children may react violently to them, and I am still teaching them control. I'd rather reserve our formal meeting with them until I'm certain they will be no problem."

"I see," it was better than a flat out rejection. "I'll make preparations and leave as soon as possible."

"See you soon, Mr. Allicus," and the phone cut out. I brought the phone down, wondering what the hell just happened, and I could tell by looking at Jacob and Zoe, they thought the same thing.

"Zoe, Jacob," I said, "please gather the Cullens and the shifters here, as well as the regulars." With a nod, they both left.

Within moments, the remaining seven Cullens, my regulars: Lydia, Micah, Bill, Ty, and Brett; and the four shifters: Seth, Sarah, Aennik, and Edemeé, arrived with Jacob and Zoe bringing up the rear.

As soon as Zoe shut the door, I began, "I had just gotten off the phone with one Adeline Beaufort. Is anyone familiar with her?"

When all I go were shaking head, I continued, "Right, because she says she wants to meet with me, to join us against the Volturi. We only spoke briefly, so for the moment, I don't have all the answers. I do know she knows about our recent trip to Chile."

This prompted surprised looks throughout. "Now, I know how this sounds, and it gets a little stranger from there. Ms. Beaufort had requested one specific person to come with me, all others being under my discretion. She said one of her 'children' requested to see you, Bella."

I looked at her to see natural confusion on her face. "Me?"

"Yes," I confirmed. "For what purpose, I don't know. I know were are on high alert, at the moment, so for this, I will accept only volunteers to come with me. While I'm not one hundred percent with this, I believe, with Ms. Beaufort giving me the flexibility to chose whom I want to come with me, that she is not a threat, at least for now, so Edward, you're more than welcome to accompany Bella."

"You realize," Edward said, "that this could be a trap."

"I am considering all possibilities," I confirmed, "but I can't pass on this opportunity. Bella, would you be so kind as to accompany me?"

"Yeah, I'll go," she said, with a bit more confidence. "Edward won't let me out of his sight, and besides, I'd like to know who's taken interest in me."

"Before I ask who else wants to go with me," I braced for the backlash, "Ms. Beaufort, while she has no issue herself, has requested that no shifters accompany me to her coven. She believes she will not be able to control those whom are too young to hold back challenging them as prey."

"No complaints here," Edemeé, of course, had to chime in, and I suppressed rolling my eyes. I looked over at Jacob, looking particularly crestfallen, knowing that he can't come with me on this trip. I sent him a look of sympathy to hold him over until I could talk to him later.

"It's probably for the best anyway," Sarah said, to my surprise. "Incidentally, Annika has summoned us back to our village, and we'll need to be departing soon."

"No trouble, I hope," I asked with genuine concern.

"Oh, no, nothing like that," Sarah assured me. "Annika simply can't keep the other Elders at bay anymore, and their demanding their remaining Elder and Alpha back."

I simply nodded. Looks like change could only happen so fast on that front. "I'll relay everything I learn to Zoe, and she can have either Jacob or Seth pass the word alone to you, using your...telepathy."

"In that case, I take my leave," Sarah, Aennik, and Edemeé stood up from their seat and turned to face me. Sarah approached me and took my right hand into her own, before covering both with her left. "I'll admit, I've never had faith in a vampire before," she said. "You've, however, along with you coven, shown me true dedication to upholding your humanity. I'm looking forward to continuing our partnership in the future."

"As am I, Sarah," I replied, placing my remaining hand on top of ours. "Hope to see you again soon."

I inclined my head to her before she turned around and walked away. Aennik came to me, shaking my hand, and simply said, "You've proven yourself well, thus far. Don't fuck it up."

I had to suppress a snicker at the bluntness of his comment, but I took it well enough. Edemeé remained expressionless as Aennik too had walked away from me. She didn't give me a scornful look, like she normally would, so perhaps there was a slight hope she was softening up. Both she and Aennik walked out of the office, Sarah paused before walking out and said in what I could swear had a playful tone, "Don't let me down," and walked out. Their scents disappeared a moment later.

"Alright then, Micah and Lydia, you're coming with me," I looked to both of them. "While I've been given discretion on who to bring, I'd not like to arrive with a small army. However, you two will have the best chance of catching them off-guard should we fall under attack."

"Is that a crack on my size?" Micah scorned me.

"Of your body," Lydia cracked, "or your brain?"

"Enough," I shot back. "We'll leave within the hour. The rest of you will have to sit tight for a little while longer. I, however," I looked to Bill and Seth, "would like the two of you to start scouting the ADX Florence Prison. Get a feel of the area, and I'll call you back when we return. Seth, you up to play noble steed to Bill?"

"Hmm, as long as you promise not to turn invisible on my back," Seth raised an eyebrow at Bill.

"Didn't even cross my mind until you said it," Bill replied.

"If there aren't any other questions," I interrupted, "I suggest we get underway."

Everyone stood up and started to disperse slowly. Bella and Edward began talking to Carlisle and the other Cullens while Lydia simply walked out of the office, Micah not far behind her. Bill and Seth shared a few words before Bill turned to leave himself with Brett and Ty. Jacob then walked to Seth and began talking to him, giving him a hug and giving him a "good luck". He waited behind until the Cullens left the room with Seth on their tail. As soon as the door shut, Jacob walked over to me and embraced me.

I returned the gesture, "I'm sorry, babe."

"Mmm, it's not your fault," Jacob replied somberly. "I had to figure there was going to be at least one trip I wouldn't be able to go with you on. Not all vampires can be like us."

I brought myself back so I could look into Jacob's face. "One day, Jake. That's what we're fighting for, isn't it?"

"Yeah," He breathed, placing his forehead on mine. "It's just gonna suck being without you for a couple of days."

"I'm sure you'll be fine taking a break from looking at this mug all day," I pointed to my face jokingly. Jacob just chuckled and shook his head.

"Hey, Jace," Jacob said, "level with me. Do you think this meeting is gonna go bad?"

"Honestly," I began, "the only thing I find shady is how this woman managed to find out about us being in Chile. I'm hoping she can give me the answers I want, and that no surprises befall upon me."

"I hope you're right," Jacob replied. "Cause there's already enough vampire paranoia around, and it's starting to make me sick thinking about it all the time."

"Yeah, I see your point," I said. "Just use this to take some time and relax your mind. I'll shoot you a message every so often, so you won't have to feel alone."

"Thanks," Jacob smiled and hugged me again. He then kissed me before we held hands and walked out of the office into the foyer, only a step away from the real world.


	32. Chapter 32

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

_Jacob's Point of View_

Not since before Jasican was turned was there any time where I was away from him for an extended amount of time. Now, seconds felt like agonizing hours, as along with the rest of the coven, I sit and wait for promising news from Jasican. But, of course, it wasn't just the wait that kept my mind occupied. I know he's only been gone for a couple of hours, and it's not the first time outside of sleep where I wouldn't see him for a while, but not having him with me, or at least within a few seconds reach, was frankly driving me insane. With most everyone I'm close or halfway-close to either gone, or hunting, I had a feeling I would be left bored out of my mind for quite a while.

I couldn't tell you how many times I thought about moving...well, anywhere, since I went back to my room, feeling significantly bigger with just me in it. I thought about walking around the palace, going for a run, finding anyone to talk to, even going so far as to visit the Chimakun village, even if it meant seeing fucking Edemeé. For the first time, I had the freedom to do what I want, where I want, and all I can think of is how much I miss Jasican. I know he had his phone, and I could probably call him (I never owned a cell phone, due to pack telepathy, so I didn't know how to text, even if I got a cell phone), but as it seemed like this new coven was a bit of a distance away, I'm sure Jasican would be expecting a call only if there was an emergency. There was no sense worrying him about me dealing with boredom.

Finally, after long last, I managed the strength to get up from my bed and stand up. I didn't bother to put my shirt back on, seeing as either I was going to end up back here soon anyways, or I was going to force myself to shift. The climb down the tower seemed to take only a second, as much as I thought I wasn't going anywhere fast. As I walked around to the back hallway, naturally, I saw no one. Now my mind was wishing half for some form of company, the other half now growing accustomed to the solitude, and almost having a desire to be alone to keep tending to my own thoughts.

I then heard a voice call my name, and whether or not it was a blessing or a curse, it came from Renesmee. Deciding it wouldn't hurt to see what she wanted, I walked over to meet her in the garden section of the palace grounds. "You were looking a little lost," she observed.

"Ha! Lost would be putting it mildly," I admitted. "I guess I never mentally prepared for when Jasican and I would have to be away for a bit."

"I'll say," Renesmee replied. "I don't think there's been an instance yet since I first met Jasican, where you two have been apart. At least we had time apart, when we were together."

Not even two sentences in, and she's already talking about us again. "Renesmee..."

"Stop, because I know exactly what you're going to say," she shot towards me before I could continue. "This isn't a pity line, a cry for attention, guilt trip, or anything else. Sometimes, observations are just observations, and needless to say, I've had plenty of time for mental reflection."

"Okay," I said simply, not knowing how to continue from that.

"Listen," Renesmee turned towards me, "when I saw you again, with Jasican, only two month after we broke up, and just hours after we lost Rosalie, you looked like hell and I simply freaked. And this isn't even factoring in whom I thought was half of my adoptive family being responsible for starting this, and chasing your ass down into terrible depths to find us. I guess what I'm trying to say is I never really gave you and Jasican a proper apology for how I acted towards the both of you."

"I have to admit, it did catch me off guard, how you were acting," I said, taking the time to think back. "Your intelligence usually was only out-shined by your compassion, and you possessed neither that day. I never figured you for a jealous, air-headed bitch."

"Gee, thanks for the lift," Renesmee huffed out sarcastically.

"Ha ha, sorry," I couldn't suppress a smile this time. "I guess when you're around Lydia enough..." I trailed off.

"In any event," Renesmee continued, "obviously, I don't hold any animosity towards Jasican for being with you, or anything. Once everyone stops treating you like a child, you can actually start thinking for yourself."

"Eh, don't be too hard on your parents," I said. "Granted, none of your family ever had real experience with an actual raising of a child, and a fast-growing hybrid at that. Also, having like thirty shifter brothers didn't exactly help either."

Renesmee actually facepalmed when I said that. "Don't remind me. They were probably the ones who thought I was old enough to do everything with them. There probably wasn't a single day Leah didn't glare at me for 'gaining all the boys' attention' all the time."

"And that's after I had gotten those same glares for having been lucky to gain an Imprint at that time," I further reminisced.

We grew quiet after that, knowing that my Imprint break was a very sensitive topic. Renesmee's voice lowered as she placed her head on my shoulder, "I know there's nothing I can say that can take back the hell I put you through. I just hope your new Imprint doesn't fuck up like I did."

"Renesmee," I began, "you don't have to--."

"But I do, Jake," her voice rose slightly. "I was also why I was thinking about you so much then. I didn't, I mean, I don't want you to think there was something wrong with you. There wasn't, and I think I thought of you too much as family to fully consider if we would have a future together, at least in that way. It never occurred to me what would happen when the more romantic aspects of your Imprint kicked in, what would happen if I didn't wish to pursue it."

I sighed as she continued, "I love you, Jake, but I think that...no, I know when I say that, it's the same love I have for Mom and Dad, for Carlisle and Esme, and for the rest of my family. How can I not, with you being there for me literally since the day I was born. I think I would be even more of a bitch if I didn't acknowledge than if I were to go around, boasting it in front of everyone."

I shook my head, but I didn't disagree, nor held back my smile. "Thank you, Renesmee."

She closed her eyes for a bit, presumably to settle her thoughts. Case and point when she said, "I think I'm going to enjoy this alone time for just a bit longer. It's a nice break, having Dad not able to constantly be around to read my thoughts, and Mom to constantly bitch at me all the time. I wanted to at least clear that out for you, so you didn't keep on thinking I was still hateful and jealous of you and Jasican. It'll be weird, seeing he's our coven master and everything, but I'll cough up the courage to talk to him also."

"I think he'll like that," I replied, "but I don't think you'll have to make too much of an effort. I'm sure he's very grateful for having you help us in Chile, and I don't sense he hold any animosity towards you."

"Thanks," Renesmee said. "I'm sure you're waiting on Jasican to contact you, don't let me keep you."

I took that more as a cue for her desire to be alone, rather than simply dismissing me, and I placed a hand on her shoulder briefly before turning away from her and walking back towards my original direction.

_Jasican's Point of View_

I had expected arriving at a large building, similar to Godric's palace. I had expected extravagance and a presence that would give off a sense of foreboding. After over four hours of travel, our noses picked of the scents of vampires residing all in a place that almost resembled a school, or something close to that. As we entered West Creston, a small village in British Columbia, Canada, our search lead us up the small river Ms. Beaufort had mentioned, and to a large, desolate area, deprived of human population. Looking from above, I could easily make out vampires dotting the otherwise smooth, green plain in between the river and the hills leading to the mountains to the south-west, where we just came from. Closer yet was an assortment of small buildings, interconnected and nearly surrounded by trees.

I scanned the area before continuing our decent towards the settlement, and I picked up no more than twenty vampires, most within the buildings, the rest where we could see them out in the fields. Trees were sparse as well, the largest concentration being around the buildings, while the rest had sporadic trees, admittingly large in diameter, over the southern portion of the plains.

We landed close to the settlement, and within moments of walking, noticed other vampires roaming in and out of the hallways, pacing at human speed. With no tension in the air, I had assumed that our arrival was presumed, and I made way to find anyone that may be Adeline Beaufort. Only glances, we received, as we grew closer and passed the closest group of vampires, two males, dressed in pretty standard clothing for mid-twenties wear. Turning around the first corner, I spotted only a single vampire this time, looking a bit more disheveled in appearance, and looking like he's worn the same clothes since he was a child. As my group and I walked deeper into the complex, we passed several more vampires, each varying in appearance and perpetual age, however, none with that distinctive hint of authority I was looking for. In fact, the attitudes of many, I had discovered, reflected a more somber or depressive aspect.

We had now reached the apparent center of the settlement, covered in fallen leaves of a large tree centered in the square. I spotted two vampires just to the right of the tree, one a younger-looking female, looking like she just turned not a day ago, the other consoling her, while certainly lacking in age herself, carried herself in an elegant, regal fashion, someone taught to be proper and mature. From this, I knew I had laid eyes on Ms. Beaufort. I noticed she was pressing a small bag into the girl's hands.

"It's not full animal, but it'll help you ween of the human blood at a better pace," Ms. Beaufort said.

The girl didn't say anything, but she nodded, and turned opposite of her, walking away. "Welcome to my home, Jasican Allicus, and friends," she greeted me in a friendly tone.

"Adeline Beaufort, I presume?" I returned the tone, reaching to shake her hand, which she took.

"Your senses are sharp, Mr. Allicus," Ms. Beaufort observed. "Of course, nothing less than I expected from someone who escaped the Volturi unscathed."

"And so it is," I replied, not wanting to capitalize on my luck. "Fascinating place you have here, Ms. Beaufort," I said with full meaning.

"Please, call me 'Madam', I haven't been a 'Ms.' anything in a long time," Madam Beaufort mused. "Plus, I've grown accustomed to it with the age of the residents who pass though here."

I merely nodded. "How many vampires usually stay here?"

"At our peak, nearly one-hundred," she told me, turning to walk out the other side of the complex, gesturing us to follow her. "However, as they stay, vampires, more notably newborns and feral ones, learn to calm themselves enough to better stabilize their new life. Our average is usually twenty-five to thirty at any given time."

"I see," was all I said. "And how do you go about helping them do that?"

"Usually the ones who find us on accident," Madam Beaufort began, "since we've never forced our help on anyone who doesn't want it, tend to be more on the lonely end. Sometimes, it's simply just being around another friendly face, without the horror of ripping it off to drink. Others, those who are new, but had enough restraint to resist humans, come hungry and willing to fed on anything alternative. The ones who didn't have restraint, the ones who have fallen aware of their prey's lives, come worse off, but the end result is still the same. We are an open space, granted of use by all, so long as you cause no harm to each other."

"You mentioned 'children'," I brought up. "Tell me, do you have your own progenies?"

"Now, now," Madam Beaufort turned with a smile, "not all so fast. We must address the matter of my other requested guest, Ms. Bella?"

Bella gracefully stepped forward and nodded her head, "Hello, Madam." Her tone sounded unsure, a fact Madam Beaufort picked up on. "No need to be nervous, Bella," she smiled. "Just a couple who's been wanting to see you, and even Edward. Their pretty fresh too, so don't be too hard on them."

I felt them both tense up for a moment when Madam Beaufort called out, "They're here, you can come on out now," but after they appeared, felt an aura of surprise and joy. Two vampires walked out, a male and a female, both roughly around my perpetual age. The female was short, only 5' 1", with straight, dark brown hair, fair skinned, and the male, 5' 11", baby-faced, with blond hair, cropped short. Both the newcomers and Bella rushed forward and embraced, both of the former calling out "Bella!" while Bella herself called out excitedly "Jessica! Mike! What the hell?! I can't believe that you're here!"

"Told ya she was a vampire," Mike said to Jessica, as everyone drew apart.

"No shit, Sherlock," Jessica gave him an annoyed look. She looked back at Bella and said, "I see you match your husband now," she gestured to Edward. "Hi, Edward."

"Jessica," he nodded to her. "Mike," he mimicked his movement. "You're both looking well."

"Well, not so much a few days, ago," Jessica replied, her smile looking a bit more restrained. "Needless to say, we've been though some bumps."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I walked forward to meet the group. "Friends of your, Bella?"

"Yeah, back when I moved to Forks and finished high school there," she said, with a hint of awkwardness I suspect was related to the old, human Bella. "Guys, this is Jasican Allicus, our new coven master. That's Micah and Lydia," she pointed to my respective regulars. "And this is Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton."

"Pleasure," I said, nodding to both Mike and Jessica, Micah and Lydia making similar gestures.

"I hate to pull Mr. Allicus away so soon after introductions," Madam Beaufort broke in, "but perhaps we can give them all a chance to catch up while we continue our discussion in private."

"Fair enough," I nodded, and we left the rest of the party. _Keep an eye out while I'm gone_ , I mentally sent to Micah and Lydia, and I followed Madam Beaufort into a large parlor. While it was very spacious, three couches in the center of the room took up the majority of the floor space, arranged in a horseshoe pattern. Tables, bookshelves, and floral arrangements made up the rest of the furniture and decor lining the room, and the walls were comprised of nearly all glass, with evenly spaced breaks to provide support for the roof.

"Now, Mr. Allicus," Madam Beaufort began, "know that, while I have much to share, I have much to learn from you. I'm hoping we can establish trust early and save us the trouble of heated moments."

"Agreed," I replied, as we sat on opposing couches. "Now, who gets to go first?" I asked with a smile.

"I believe I can afford you one more question before I go," Madam Beaufort replied.

"How'd you find out about me in Chile?" I asked without sounding too stern.

"Believe it or not, one of the 'loyalists', after you left," she responded simply. "After hearing that Demetri and the Volturi saw the Chilean vampires as expendable, most we're not willing to contact the Volturi again, and this particular one wanted as far away as possible. He found me just two days ago and described to me what he witnessed."

"And that's when you decided to find me?"

"I said one more question, Mr. Allicus," Madam Beaufort held up a finger as she smiled. "It's now my turn, seeing as you asked me plenty between now and when I first called you. Now, tell me what happened to Godric?"

I let off a small sigh before answering, "Dead, destroyed by the Volturi."

"When?"

"About a month and a half ago. We had found out after that his Second, Raymond, had betrayed us, and let the Volturi straight to the palace, killing others who resisted."

"Yes, I suspected as much," Madam Beaufort's demeanor grew dimmer. "And where do you fit in all this? How did you know Godric?"

"Godric was my maker," I said. "In fact, I had only been turned two days prior to his death. I had discovered I wielded a large array of powers, and with the help of a group of individuals whom also witnessed Godric's death, and later, helped with with a recuse mission, they saw me fit to become the new coven leader. I was only elected a little over a week ago."

"Elected?" Madam Beaufort repeated in surprised. "I'm amazed covens can do that. And you seek to continue Godric's goal of vampire revelation?"

I nodded, "Yes, Madam. While I, personally, don't think I'm qualified for the job, honestly, I don't feel like I have any other choice, aside from running and dying."

"Ah, but you mustn't be so hard on yourself," Madam Beaufort said. "You already have an amazing resume, from what I've heard for far."

"Forgive me, but most of my 'accomplishments' were attributed to luck and flukes," I responded honestly.

"I see," she said, unconvinced. "And what were you doing in Chile to begin with?"

"Are you familiar with what happened in Britain?"

"Yes."

"I discovered, using my powers, that because Raymond had been dethroned, the Volturi were going to launch a series of attacks in order to disrupt and dissuade us from continuing our mission. Through one of my own, we were able to determine that some of the higher members of the Volturi were being sent to Chile to visit vampire hybrids that assisted the Cullen coven almost ten years ago. We decided that trying to obtain more information from the Volturi with my powers and recruiting these hybrids would be the best course of action."

"Using your powers?"

"Yes, as I am able to link with another person's mind and take their memories as my own, we figured I would have the best chance of infiltrating their minds."

"Hmm, you surprise me, Mr. Allicus," Madam Beaufort said, amused. "What's also surprising is that I have been bombarding you with my pheromones now for a good fifteen minutes, and I have not provoked one response from you."

I raised my eyebrow, "Pheromones? Your gift?"

"If you could call it that," she replied. "I use it mostly to lure my prey, but it has it's used elsewhere. I was testing to see how much I could affect you."

"Well, as much as I like to say it worked, Madam Beaufort," I said with a smile, "I have not noticed anything different."

"Hmm, pity," she said in feigned defeat, "I should have loved to have seen what you would have been like wrapped around my finger. Most men can't resist me."

"Forgive me, but I haven't been attracted to a woman since, well, ever," I shrugged.

Madam Beaufort suddenly began laughing, and I couldn't help but smile back. "Come, Mr. Allicus, we have much, much more to discuss, and I have a feeling we'll get along fabulously."


	33. Chapter 33

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

_Jacob's Point of View_

After talking to Renesmee, I felt a bit better about going out on my own. Completely letting my mind go, I shifted before heading into the forest nearby, and I simply let instinct take over. I, oddly enough, found myself yipping at the sunlight peaking through the trees, or chasing huge dragonflies, trying to chomp on them. I had to admit, even without Jasican, I could see Renesmee's view: sometimes its good to just be alone with your thoughts.

I had lost track of time, but if I had to venture a guess, maybe four hours have passed. Clouds were gathering again as another storm will probably hit us soon. Fortunately, we've been spared heavy snowstorms, only getting a light dusting a few times, and only so, lasting two days, max. I looked to the south, where the clouds have yet to reach, and I could see bright, orange sky peaking through, slowly fading into the darkness. I figured that I should return to the palace and find Zoe, hoping that maybe Jasican called her with an update on his progress. Also, I guessed Jasican was too far out of range to send me a message, so I had to settle for waiting.

After shifting back into a human and replacing my shorts, I entered through the front doors as usual. While I still didn't interact with maybe half of the vampires here, having basically lived with them all for over a month now, nobody really felt like a stranger. We had all accepted each other, and I could see Jasican's vision coming to light: peaceful coexistence between shifters and vampires.

I looked around to see if I could find Zoe, or anyone else Jasican may have called with an update. I only managed to find Brett, who was about to go on a hunt, but he knew nothing. The rest seemed to be out, or in their respective rooms, so I doubled my search to find Zoe. She didn't seem to be around anywhere, not matter where I checked: her room, Godric's office, the top floor where we had talked yesterday. Even asking around other vampires, no one seem to know where she was, even by following her scent, only that her last general direction was around one of the basement entrances. I found it unlikely that she would have any reason to go down there, but with no other alternatives, I took the elevator down to the first level, the same one that held the vault system keeping Raymond prisoner.

When I exited, I started looking around, noting how quiet it was. I was surprised my ears couldn't pick up anything, no footsteps, or anything. I only made it through about a quarter of the vaults before I hear a high-pitch scream, and a body flying out of the next vault in front of me, Raymond's vault, and crashing into the opposing wall, causing a dent to form. When the body dropped, I immediately recognized it as Zoe.

"Zoe!" I shouted, but before I had a chance to reach for her, a blur materialized from the vault, and Raymond appeared before me. He simply gave me a twisted smile, then in a flash, turned around and leaped up, coiling his body and actually _penetrating_ the roof, probably onto the ground floor. I rushed quickly to Zoe, whom was slowly picking herself up. "Zoe!" I repeated. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," she said through grit teeth, clearly in pain. However, as much as I wanted to tend to her, I couldn't let Raymond get away. I shifted immediately, and while Zoe was calling out to me, telling me to wait, I ignored her and leaped through the newly created hole. Picking up on Raymond's scent, I exited out the hallway and straight out the front door, though the foyer. While no one was in there, some had seen the commotion, and I managed to catch a glance at a few gathering to see, but no one was following me. Keeping with the hope that they'll find Zoe and tend to her, I placed all my speed forward in an effort to catch Raymond.

Seth, if you can hear me, Raymond's just escaped, I'm hot on his tail, I sent to him telepathically, and as I finished, I caught sight of Raymond, already a great distance ahead of me. He was keeping ahead of me pretty well, but there wasn't a chance in hell I was going to lose him. We were both going south, and ahead of me lay rows of mountain, which I knew once we both entered, would turn into a game of cat and mouse to hunt him.

_Jasican's Point of View_

I spent about an hour with Madam Beaufort before rejoining the rest of my group. I had to admit, I came with a lot of skepticism, but then again, I've had to approach every situation since becoming a vampire with such scrutiny. It was refreshing to be around someone else, as a vampire, whom can display such compassion and willingness to help.

In learning about Madam Beaufort, I discovered she actually hasn't been a vampire very long, in the general sense. Her vampire brother, who joined us after our discussion, seemed also to be a genuine individual, but having only been turned a few months ago, still lacked the ability to fully control his urges. Madam Beaufort learned early on it was possible to sustain oneself with animal blood, and kept that sentiment as she gained more vampires within her fold recently. As she indicated earlier, this place, that she set up, was used to temporarily hold stray vampires in desperate need, considering them her temporary "children".

With that sentiment, Madam Beaufort was able to play the motherly protective role, in addition to teacher. However, along with her gift of projecting pheromones (which she managed to display a bit more properly on a more open volunteer), her vibe is that of one perfectly comfortable with her sexuality. While she swears to have not used that to her advantage too much, I have a feeling that was more a recent thing to restrict herself, and I can only imagine what her top trait was in her human life to gain so much physical appeal.

I also got to learn a bit about Mike and Jessica. They were only turned a couple of days ago, Jessica being the first one, falling victim to a stray vampire that nearly drained her. When Mike found her, neither of then knew what happened, and Jessica nearly killed Mike in her attempt to instinctively feed off of him. With her last ounce of self-control, she was able to resist feeding off of him until he himself became a vampire. They ran as far away from their native town as possible, and they caught the scents of other vampires, leading them to Madam Beaufort's retreat. They saw her with gold eyes and immediately concluded they knew Edward was a vampire, and that their former friend, Bella, would possibly be able to help them out. Since Madam Beaufort had already been aware of my mission to Chile by then, it was only a matter of bringing us all together by then.

I figured, being a newborn myself, I could help Mike and Jessica a bit in understanding their newfound bodies. It was too much a common thing, to have your life stolen by a stray, hungry vampire. "How've you held up?" I asked the couple, sitting down opposite of them.

"To be honest, I'm not," Jessica admitted. "I went from a normal life, to being attacked, tortured with this extreme, unbearable pain for three days, then I almost rip Mike into several pieces, and subject him to the same torture. Needless to say, it's not the easiest thing to digest in a few days."

"And you, Mike?" I turned to him.

It took a moment for him to speak, "What else can I say? I've known Jessica since high school, we've dated and everything. We just got engaged not too long ago, and everything just blows up. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're both alive, but I keep thinking 'what's the cost gonna be'?"

"Are you aware of what my coven and I are trying to accomplish?" I was vaguely aware Madam Beaufort was standing behind me now.

"Bella and Edward gave us a brief summary," Jessica replied, "but...I just...I don't know if I could be around anyone 'human' again. Jeez, it feels weird, saying that."

"It's like we've been thrown out of the natural world with no way back," Mike continued. "I mean, how can we go back to our families, now, like this? We've been turned into deadly creatures, and we haven't contacted anyone since this happened. They're probably looking for us and thinking we're dead."

I closed my eyes for a moment. This particular story hits home the most, as I still think about my friends and family often. I'm sure everyone think's I'm dead, with my parents and my brother still probably clinging to some hope I'm alive...somewhere. "It's not easy," I began. "You didn't ask for this, neither of you, and adapting to it will not be as simple as you think it is. If our goals were to be realized, then it would be a chance for you to continue with your lives, without having to hide, but I think the most important thing for the two of you would be to be around others, both new and experienced, that can help you both with the transition."

Jessica began to sob a bit, "I'll try, but all I keep thinking about is calling my parents and telling them I'm okay. I mean, anything, dammit!"

"I won't stop you," I said, "and honestly, I feel it would be a disservice to tell you otherwise. However, it would be a larger disservice to allow you without knowing all the risks."

"Yeah, Bella and Edward told us," Mike bitterly said. "It's fucked up how these other vampires can have that much control over us."

"Which is why we're trying to change that," I stated. "It's slow going, I'll admit, but I've been trying to gather as much help as I can to obtain those goals."

"Mr. Allicus," Madam Beaufort interjected in a warning tone.

"Please, I'm not about to ask them to go to war for me," I turned to face her. "Even more can be done with words than weapons, sometimes, and it's important for them to learn the world, as it is now. And besides, battle was not what we were seeking in the first place."

"Be that as it may," Madam Beaufort said sternly, "remember, I am not a representative of any vampires here but myself. If you wish to have anyone else join you, make sure you have their full consent, and not assume I give it."

"I understand," I replied before turning back.

"So, what happens now?" Mike asked me.

"Well, this whole thing puts me in an awkward situation," I admitted. "I was expecting a willing coven in hopes of join up with me. Instead, I'm met with a sort of midway home for drifting and newborn vampires, not that I'm disparaging your efforts, Madam," I turn again to nod at her. "As fresh newborns, you know next to nothing of our world and are governed by your urges, despite the fact I'm nearly in your same position. I cannot consciously as the two of you to come with me, under these circumstances. Otherwise, I'd be needlessly taking your lives to be sacrificed elsewhere for nothing."

I stood up and faced Madam Beaufort, saying, "Am I to assume the rest under your care are facing similar limitations?"

She nodded, and then I turned back to the group, "When I became leader of Godric's coven, I was determined to unite all I could under my flag in a effort to combat the Volturi and bring revelation of the vampire species to the humans, in the goal of peaceful coexistence. I still believe it's possible, through much effort, however, we cannot win based solely are martial might. We must be the leaders of a new world, all of us, and provide the example for those unfortunate enough to have to be forced in it," I indicated towards Jessica and Mike's direction. "A new generation must be formed on the ashes of the old, and with it, new ideals to further our race, and all others combined. I may still be new, in many retrospects, but I know enough that the longer we keep isolating ourselves from one another, the easier it will be to continue being oppressed."

Everyone nodded, even Jessica and Mike, albeit halfheartedly. "I advise you two," I pointed at Jessica and Mike, "to listen and take guidance from Madam Beaufort, as you are now. For now, there's nothing I can do for you. But I encourage you to keep open communication with us, especially now you've rejoined with your former friends."

"We will," Jessica smiled, grasping Mike's hand.

Madam Beaufort came around when I asked her, "Do you think, perhaps, I could speak with--."

A constant vibrate was now emitting from my pocket, and I knew my phone was going off. "Excuse me," I said, pulling it out, "it's probably my Second, Zoe, asking how things are going. I'll won't be a moment."

She nodded as I walked out of the room. I tapped the Answer button and said cheerfully, "Zoe! How're things going there?"

"Jasican, Raymond's escaped."

My non-beating heart felt like it dropped through the floor, and I struggled to keep composure, "How?"

"He used...something," I heard Zoe say grimly. "I was walking out the foyer when I saw something unusual. It looked like a person, but it was moving fast, like a blur, and it didn't seem like a fully constructed person. After a while, it eventually led me to Raymond's vault, and...Jace, it was open, and he was just sitting there, with what I saw standing right next to him. I...I think it looked like Godric. He was making an image of Godric out of thin air."

I grew more distressed as she continued, equal in feeling, "It was only there for a second, before he was absorbed into Raymond, then he stood up. He said he was waiting for me to show up, and before I knew it, he attacked me. I think he was going to kill me and use...whatever he has...to impersonate me while you were gone."

I closed my eyes, hardly able to absorb this. I hoped dearly that no one was hearing this behind me. "Jesus-fucking-Christ, are you okay, Zoe?"

"I'll live," she said, "but he's gone now, I have no idea where he is."

"Did anyone else get hurt?" I asked, concerned.

"No, I'm back in the office. Ty and Esme are tending to me."

"Do you know if anyone went after him?" I pressed.

Silence. I waited for a moment before anxiously asking, "Zoe?"

"Jacob came down and stopped Raymond from coming after me," Zoe said, her voice starting to shake. "Jace...he doesn't know..."

Faster than I could think, I ran out of the complex, leaving my phone behind, and headed straight back southwest. My mind went blank and nothing else mattered except getting to Jacob. It took nearly four hours to get here from the palace, and despair was setting in, knowing it would be a while before I could even reach him.

I tried in vain to scan for him, but it seemed all my mental abilities were limited by distance. Unless I was at least fifty miles from Jacob, there would be no way I could warn him, and my deepest gut instinct was telling me Jacob was walking right into a trap by going after Raymond.


	34. Chapter 34

_Disclaimer: The characters used for this fanfic from Twilight are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer, as are any characters of TrueBlood/The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris respectfully. This fanfiction is rated M for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. This fanfiction also contains slash fiction (homosexual relationships) and will include explicit scenes of gay sex. If this is not your thing, please do me the courtesy of not reading this and flaming me, or if you are clearly underaged (you know who you are!). I'm open to all reviews on my fanfics, including constructive criticism, but I will not tolerate any flaming. Any chapters I deem extremely explicit, I will mark in bold above the chapter to warn you in case you either do not enjoy reading sex scenes or scenes of an incredibly violent nature. Now, enjoy the story!_

_Jacob's Point of View_

I wasn't sure if I had gotten rusty, but it was concerning me how these vampires I'm having to chase down are able to keep distance ahead of me. The glow of the sun was now completely obscured by the coming storm clouds now I had seen earlier, and I had completely lost track of how long I had been pursuing Raymond. Every so often, I'd catch a glimpse of him within the mountain range, but with only his scent to go by, I grew more fearful he would be able to evade me here.

Passing by me was probably the largest peak I'd ever seen, Mt. Rainier, if I remember correctly, and directly ahead was one of the more odder-shaped mountains. I was getting distressed now as the scent I was picking up was starting to fade, and keeping sight of him proved nearly impossible. Keeping in mind the surrounding human populations, I redoubled my efforts to speed myself up, but I could begin to feel fatigue set in.

Closer and closer I got, following Raymond to the base of this mountain. His scent seemed to follow up the mountain, but it was still growing fainter, closer to the point of nonexistence now. My feelings told me he was still here, though, and I kept in mind that if he hadn't fed since Jasican last forced blood down him a week ago. He would be hungry, willing to feed off any human he could encounter once he shakes me off, and he'll regain enough strength to try to combat me and make it back to the Volturi, two things I would not allow.

I managed to climb a couple thousand feet upwards along the slopes, but the way this mountain was shaped, there were far more jagged and rugged areas around here than I would normally find. It was almost as if the summit had been completely blown off at one point, leaving a massive area of devastation in it's wake. I had no time to think about it, as I now began searching around the mountain for Raymond. Twice, I nearly feel down as I tried to traverse narrow pathways against near-vertical rock walls, and the size of my wolf body was working against me, it seemed.

The darkness of the clouds had engulfed the sky at this point, and rain would begin to fall soon at this altitude, washing away all traces of Raymond's scent and losing my only chance at catching him. Higher and higher I went, but to no avail, I hadn't found him. Panic was now setting in, and I began to grow desperate in finding him.

Suddenly, I caught a straight, new scent. It seemed familiar, but I wasn't entirely sure where or who was emitting it. I had no time to think, as I heard a noise behind me and I saw Jasican coming towards me, knocking off a few rocks as he jumped down to meet me. I shifted back to human form to meet him, but before I managed to say anything, he motioned for me to stay quiet and he met up next to me.

"Zoe called and told me what was going on," he whispered to me. "I got here as fast as I could."

"Can you pick up his scent?" I asked, finding it a bit strange he wasn't using his telepathy to communicate with me.

"Nah, I think he's blocking it with something," Jasican stated. "I only managed to pick up your scent after essentially running into it. I had no idea where you went, could have been up north for all I know."

"I don't think he's left the mountain," I confided to him. "My guess is he's probably gonna find someone to feed off of before either trying to escape, or fight us first."

"Sounds reasonable," he confirmed. "Let's see if we can get to higher elevation, then we can split up from there."

I nodded and stood up again. Before I shifted, I caught whiff of that same scent again, but it seemed to be coming from Jasican. I didn't think he gained an ability to do that, and questions were now flooding my head. A new form of panic began to set in, and I didn't want to entertain those thoughts, cause it just sounded plain crazy.

"Something wrong?" Jasican looked at me, concerned.

"Sorry, I've been running nonstop for a while now," I told him, which wasn't far from the truth. "The fatigue is a bit more concentrated in human form, so I need a moment before I can shift again."

"Just try to breathe, and relax," he advised me, turning his back to me. I nodded, but there wasn't any way I was going to relax here. Something was wrong, really wrong, so I decided to take the leap forward and ask, "So is Micah and Brett taking over for your negotiations?"

"Brett is," he confirmed, "but I didn't exactly have enough time to stay and chat."

"Hmm," I said, struggling to keep my composure now. "Funny you should mention him, because the last time I saw Brett, he was back at the palace while you were gone with Micah and Lydia."

"Troublesome," a new voice appeared, and the last thing I remembered was seeing Jasican's contorted face right next to mine, his arm speared right through my stomach, my own blood covering his arm, and pain beyond anything imaginable coming from the new wound. He retracted his arm and I felt myself falling, knowing no more.

_Jasican's Point of View_

I tumbled in the air as I grasped my stomach, feeling an enormous amount of pain coming from the area, and I screamed, loud, squeezing my eyes shut. I landed on the ground a second later, rolling over a few times as the pain continued. After a few seconds, the pain had stopped and I realized instantly that it didn't come from an injury I sustained, but from Jacob. I opened my eyes wide in horror and in a flash, was back on my feet, heading past the base of Mt. Rainier and straight for Mt. St. Helens, where my mind had connected the source of the pain.

I pushed myself as hard as my body would allow me, no longer caring about maintaining secrecy amongst the surrounding human population, and started scanning the area for both Raymond and Jacob. I only found the latter, and his ping was faint, really faint, and no sign of Raymond. I figured he hadn't gotten far, but he no longer matter, at least for now. If he had done something, anything to hurt Jacob...

Pure fear, panic, and anger were now engulfing my mind and I pushed hard to meet Jacob. I found trying to calm my mind extremely futile right from the get-go, as I knew whatever Jacob had sustained to cause that kind of pain would be life-threatening. I couldn't keep the thoughts out of my head and I was starting to lose focus the higher I climbed, further and further I went, each second seemed like an eternity.

Finally, I ascended far enough upward and I ran towards a small, narrow trail ahead of me. I emerged to find a large, flat cliff, and just near the halfway point, I found Jacob, lying in a pool of his own blood.

"JACOB!" I screamed, rushing to him. I dropped to my knees next to him and I was in complete shock. Right where I had felt the pain, a large, jagged wound was bleeding profusely from his stomach, and appeared to reemerge opposite from his back. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no," I kept repeating, softly picking up his head. "Jake! Please, speak to me! Open your eyes! ANYTHING!"

"He won't wake."

I scanned behind me, and all I found was a void. I placed Jacob's motionless head back onto the ground and turned to face his assailant, hatred now coursing through me.

"You should have known better than to cross me, young one," Raymond said calmly. "I was hoping your pet would have died with his own kind, and you well under my wing, but in a way, I feel it serves me better, knowing I had done the deed myself."

I growled at him loudly, and he just laughed at me. "Did you really think that you can get away with all that you're doing? Did you really think you had some form of control, a plan, to defeat us? You're wrong."

Shit, he's stalling me. I can still feel Jacob, and I can hear his heartbeat, but both were fading rapidly, and I needed to get back to helping him. But just then, Raymond closed his eyes and his height changed half a second before the rest of his appearance did, and before me was Godric, and my eyes widen in disbelief.

"He really was committed to fighting us," Raymond spoke in Godric's body. "A sad end for one as powerful as him, not being able to accomplish anything before succumbing to his very enemy. One would say it was rather weak, and ironic."

My teeth grit even harder as he continued. "I had wondered why he had taken such an interest in you so much. You know he studied you before he turned you, knowing if you had the traits needed to become his perfect weapon!"

"YOU LIE!" I bellowed, and Raymond laughed again. "Do you really think so? Why else would he have travelled so far from his coven, to a place where vampires would hardly consider inhabiting? You would know better than anyone, living in Southern California all your life, that too much sun and daytime would make the location ill-equipped for a vampire to suitably inhabit.

"I kept close tabs on him, using my magnificent talent to project myself near his location, but he never knew. My images could interact with the physical world, but would leave no trace behind, and you can imagine I was well-received when approached by Aro. In any event, it appeared he thought your time was right, and sent three of his minions to rough you up quite a bit. See, he needed an excuse to turn you, but it doesn't end there. Oh no, my dear boy, it get better.

"See, you can think of me as the evil one, but that's because you've seen only a glimpse of what I'm capable of. Godric likes to think the end justifies the means, while keeping the illusion that he's somehow noble, and fighting for a good cause. But I saw what he did to you that night, after his friends nearly killed you, and I guess I shouldn't haven been so surprised that he decided to experiment on you during your transformation. What, no one told you it was rather unusual that it took five days for you to turn?"

I didn't know how to react. I stood there, essentially frozen, unable to properly think, and I wasn't sure if I could stand to refute his claims. My growth in powers had been unprecedented, from what I was told, and even more so when I learned my newest power mirrored Godric's exactly. It seemed I had no control over my thought processes, as I was actually beginning to contemplate that maybe Godric really did these things...and stole my life.

"The venom he gave you was modified, in an effort to make you the most powerful," Raymond continued, actually inching closer to me. "He felt he perfected it this time, as you can imagine, there were plenty others that he tested on that weren't so successful. Most went mad, and had to be put down immediately. He was so proud to see you were the first to accept his blood properly, and were at least a bit more stable than the rest. I think it's safe to say, however, that no one anticipated you would grow as strong as you have now.

"But it's all inconsequential now. Godric is dead, and while you gave me the slightest bit of delay, it was a simple matter of waiting for the right moment to escape. Sure, I could have left at any time, it would have been easy, but then you threw me in that cursed vault, and I had to find a way out. It took a little while to learn the code, then I wanted to make sure you were away, leaving behind your dog and that stupid bitch, so I wanted to kill them both, and frame one another. Oh, imagining the coven, even more broken and betrayed than before, and you, coming back to discover your lover and Second dead.

"It would have only been a matter of time before I came back, none of you the wiser on who I really was, and work my way to taking over once more, seeing as you would be completely broken. It would have been better if it had worked that way, but I always have a backup. Remember, we always have plans within plans, and you'll never be able to anticipate our movements, especially this."

And in a flash, Raymond morphed his form and he then turned into...me. "I don't get to do this often," I heard my voice coming from Raymond, "but at times, I do like a bit of theatrics, and I must say, your dog was well enough a prime candidate."

All my anger returned in an instant, but nothing compared to what he said next. "It's one thing to deceive someone, but it's another to look at the one you thought you love as they end your life. Oh, you should have seen his eyes, it was glorious. I should almost be thanking you, I mean, it's not often I get to murder someone wearing the face of their lover."

Raymond began laughing again as he returned to his original form, "It's quite the experience, stealing someone else's life, looking upon their face as they see themselves, a foil of their own being, strike them down. To live as anyone you want, however long you want, and the control of each life you wield under you, to be able to ripple your effect and influence, even after you're long gone. You can think what you want, Jasican Allicus, but no matter what happens now, you can leave with the knowledge that no matter what you do, you will never be able to protect the ones you love. I have taken so much from you, even if I wasn't there, and now, I own you!

"NOOOO!!!!" I screamed, and feeling an extreme amount of energy consume me, I launched my arms forward and I expelled a massive wave of transparent-blue energy in a semi-circular arc. The last I saw of Raymond was his smug face as he was consumed, the energy completely vaporizing him, and the remaining energy crashing into the mountain with the force of a large bomb, causing the whole ground to shake and rumble briefly before the calm.

It took a moment to register what had just happened, and within a moment, everything I had just felt seconds before was replaced by the worst, desperate feeling imaginable. I rushed back over to Jacob, nearly sliding next to him, and against my hope, nothing about him improved. His breaths were far and few in between, very shallow, but labored, and his heartbeat nearly nonexistent.

"Fucking hell, you aren't healing," I stated helplessly, seeing his terrible wound unchanging in appearance. I was completely beside myself as the reality set in: Jacob was dying. A sob escaped me, but I quickly brought it in as I once again lifted Jacob's head, cradling it in my hand.

"Jake?" I whispered softly. "Jacob? Please...please don't go. I can't live without you!"

I place my forehead upon his, squeezing my eyes shut in another tearless sob. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Jake. I wasn't fast enough."

I brought my head back and looked at his face. "I need you to hear me, Jake, please. I need you to hear me. I don't know if this is gonna work, in fact, it may push you out of my life faster. Just...just understand, I have to try." I sobbed again and struggled to maintain my composure. "And if I fail, then you're gonna die anyway."

And without another moment to spare, I bared my teeth and brought them to his neck, biting deep into his jugular, but not enough to rip it off. I sped fast to both of his wrists, also biting deep, and brought myself back. I knelt down next to him, hoping against hope my venom would save him. We defied everything up to this point, and with little to go on, it was up to fate now.

I tried to remember, nearly two months ago, the day before Godric was killed by the Volturi. Jacob's life then was also in danger, with no guarantee that he would be alright. I demanded to see Carlisle, knowing he would have answers that could help me. Bella had just taken me to him, and I had remembered Godric was talking to Carlisle, the former excusing himself so that I would be alone with the latter.

I faced Carlisle and said simply, “There's something I have to ask, and I'm not leaving until I get an answer I want.”

He placed a book he was holding onto a nearby table and replied, "Of course, Jasican, what can I do for you?"

"Is it possible to turn Jacob into a vampire?"

Carlisle seemed nearly unfazed by that question outwardly, and asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"Okay, I'll admit, I don't know a whole lot about Jacob," I told him. "He told me he doesn't age because of his shifting, but what if he stops? And, he's still able to sustain human injuries."

"Which Jacob is usually able to recover from," Carlisle retorted. "I'm not certain why you're asking this."

I sighed, "I'm only asking all this because I would only try if Jacob was actually dying."

"That's reasonable," he began, "but you have to remember, things don't work the same way for shifters. To them, our venom is poisonous, it doesn't turn them."

"Could it be possible that, because of how Jacob and I are now, that perhaps there's a chance that we could even defy that? That maybe because he's managed to keep this Imprint on me, that maybe I could achieve that."

"I honestly could not give you an answer," Carlisle said simply. "I haven't had much study of shape-shifters, and what little I have is basically what I learned by studying Jacob. I can only theorize that because our genetic makeup differs significantly, is why our venom is rejected by them, and simply acts as a toxin."

After that, he didn't yield any more useful answer. A couple days ago, after I had talked to Eleazar, I sought out Carlisle again and informed him of everything I learned, taking a small break from my all-night search in Godric's office.

"What do you think?" I asked him.

"The answer remains the same, Jasican," Carlisle told me.

"But you know more now," I retorted.

"I know less," he stressed. "It's possible, based on what Eleazar told you that you may be different enough to make some difference, but think about what happens if you did try. Shifters and vampires already differ from humans in chromosomal makeup, but even then, vampire have twenty-five chromosomes, and shifters and vampire-hybrids have twenty-four."

"Can you honestly say you knew enough about Renesmee to know if she was going to come out right or not?" I inquired.

"No, Jasican, we didn't," Carlisle answered, "but that wasn't a planned situation. Just the fact that you have more powers coming to you will not change the outcome of my answer. Even if you turned him, he could have something equivalent to Down Syndrome, and then you'll have something even worse than a dead Jacob. You may not even recognize him; it might be better just to let him go."

I sat down, placing my face in my hands in frustration. "Why? Why can't anything be normal?" I looked back up and continued, "The more I'm thrust into the unknown, the more I fear I'm going to be dragging Jacob down into it and the more I feel I'm going to be responsible for killing him."

Carlisle came over to me and sat down, "You didn't ask for any of this, but even if you and Jacob were 'normal', how much would things really be different? You would still want him to live forever, immune from all disease and injury, from all harm. It's the price we pay when we fall in love with our soulmates, and it's simply how life works. You can't change it."

Those last words resonated in my head the most as I sat next to Jacob's lifeless body. Perhaps he was right, but I didn't think I would have to face the reality of those words. My desperation at a near breaking point, hoping against hope that my venom would at the least heal Jacob and prolong his mortality. I knew, even if it would work, it would take days to take affect. We had defied everything else between shifter/vampire relations, I again ask myself, why not one more?

Not even a moment later, a foul stench had entered my nostrils and my rage instantly spiked. Immediately, I remembered Raymond's words now, and I knew that he used his power, his cursed power, to bring the Quileute shifters again to me. If Raymond has survived, they would have only found Jacob's limp body as I lay dead in a pile of ashes next to him, but now, they get to deal with me. While I never looked back to see who it was, the stench told me enough, and the voice paired with that stench shouted out, "YOU?! What did you do to him?!"

Without acknowledging what he said, I simply brought my head up and said, "I thought I told you if you ever showed your mangy face in front of me again, however accidental, I would kill you, Sam!" I stood up, still with my back facing the pack, but I didn't need to see. I brushed my thoughts over all the surrounding minds, and found at least thirty of them. This didn't phase me in the least, I was powerful, I could take them all effortlessly. I could dominate every mind here and force them all to kill each other, but that wouldn't be fun. I had to get in on the fun personally, and I would take great pleasure in ripping apart Sam, piece by piece.

I heard some of the pack shifting to their wolf forms behind me, all but Sam, who said, "Do you really think a single vampire can stand against us?! We were designed to kill vampires, by the spirits of our ancestors! I've taken down much bigger than you, leech! You're absolutely nothing!"

I smiled as ignored the pathetic words of the leader. Then I started laughing softly as I heard the pack began to shift behind me. My laughing reached climax and along with the now broken mountain, I lost all control.


	35. Chapter 35

I never thought I would reach this point, but wow, here I am. Since December 2009, I had been struggling to complete "The Unifying Force" for nearly four years. So many things have happened to me, as I have lived my first five years of adulthood, that I could have never foreseen, and as such, there were long periods of time where writing this fanfiction would be the absolute least concern for me. Events ranging from dating woes, to shit happening at work, to losing a good friend of mine in a car accident only two years ago. Most of those had caused long hiatuses where my motivation was zero, but nothing compared to when I was helping my parents take care of my loving grandmother.

She passed only two months ago, but for the seven years prior we had her in our home, her survival as her memory and motor functions degraded from Alzheimer's Disease was our top priority. Even now, I still have trouble remembering how she was before the disease fully set in. Her care took up much of my time in the recent years, and we had put our literal blood, sweat, and tears into making sure that her final years would be the best we could give her, refusing, even in the hardest of times, to put her in a home. She had done so much for us, even before I was born, and she was my third parent as my mother and father both worked to keep a roof over our heads. She was constantly a bright spot of hope and love into our lives, and even though I, myself, am an atheist, she took her Christian values to heart and used them to be the best person she could be, which I find rare and admirable in this day and age.

I don't write this because I expect anything out of it. I never expect this to every make me money or famous or renowned in any way. This is all a project I do because it's fun and it's my hobby, essentially, but I can't deny that my life events have helped shape the certain parts that I write for the story. Nor can I deny that when I see my view ticker go up, that I get a little jolt of excitement from seeing that there is someone out there who is at least a bit interested in checking out what I have done in my spare time. That, and my willingness to please my anal-retentive side and finish this goddamn fanfiction (haha) are what keep me driven to see this story through the end.

  
I, of course, will be going though the stories and proofreading as much as my eyes and fingers can pick up. This will be low priority, however, as I will post one chapter of "The Unsung War", the third and final installment of "Twilight: The Jasican Allicus Chronicles", and then I will break from writing for the rest of 2013. If you're reading this in 2014, congratulation, you won't have to wait long to wait for future chapters, and before long, the final ending of the trilogy. I sincerely hope you have had as much fun reading both stories, and my future story, as I've had writing it.


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